Ocean of the Unforeseen
by Kyuseisha no Hikari
Summary: Taking place on the seas of the 18th century, Krad is commander for an elite naval force, while Dark is a wellknown and popular pirate. What will happen when the two collide and Krad is thrust into the arms of his sworn enemy?
1. I

_Oceans of the Unforeseen_

_Kyuseisha no Hikari_

_Chapter 1_

_--_

A calm breeze calm breeze fluttered lightly over the foaming waves, lifting spray into the face of the golden haired captain of the famed '_Archaic_ _Light'; _into the face of Krad Hikari, head of the most powerful naval fleet in the all of the known world.

His hair, tightly bound in a high ponytail blew, intertwined with the wind behind him as he leaned against his elegant ship's railing.

His eyes scanning the rich, azure sea, he was soon lost in thought, and almost didn't hear the irritated voice behind him calling his name.

"_Krad!_"

Cocking his head slightly to the side, he nodded to signal that he heard the boy, not caring in the slightest that all formalities had been dropped at this point in time.

"Have you gone _deaf_? I've been calling you for quite some time now," The blue haired boy said as he walked next to the older male.

"My mistake. I wasn't paying attention."

"Oh, you weren't? Go figure," the other huffed as he crossed his arms and glared at the open sea.

Turning to face the pouting teenager, Krad raised an eyebrow. "Satoshi, what's wrong with _you_ today. You seem in an awfully _foul _mood."

"What gave you _that_ idea?" he replied, raising his gaze to meet golden hues.

Krad frowned. Satoshi had never been one to openly show such emotions, and it came as quite a surprise to him that the boy would choose to express such negative ones so fluently. "Well, then. What's the problem?"

"That bastard you call second in command keeps bothering me about things I couldn't care less about. No offense meant," Satoshi added as Krad's eyes narrowed a bit.

"None taken at all," the blonde said as he laid a hand his cabin boy's shoulder and gently began to lead him to the captain's quarters. Saying nothing during the walk, when they reached his quarters he gestured for the boy to go in front of him, and closed the door behind himself.

"Sorry. You know I can't say anything out there or someone is bound to hear me. Tell me, what has he said _this _time. Would you like something to eat?" Krad said, gesturing towards an ornately designed cabinet.

Shaking his head, Satoshi sank down into a handcrafted chair and sighed deeply. "Suit yourself," was all Krad managed to murmur before he too lowered himself warily into a similarly crafted chair. Positioning himself in front of the boy, he made another small gesture. "Now, though…what were you saying?"

"Alright, alright," Satoshi grumbled as he leaned foreword in his seat. "He keeps saying how he would make such a better captain—how he would keep everyone in line where you were slacking off and he would serve the king more loyally, and things of the sort. It's driving me crazy—I don't know how much longer I can stand for this before I throw myself overboard!"

"Calm down, Satoshi—I know he's a pain, but I can't just let him go. He's the only qualified man anywhere around here—except you, and the whole point is that you won't come of age to take that role for almost two more years. Until then, you'll have to deal with it…or…"

Satoshi looked at Krad, his brows raised at the unfinished sentence. "Or…?"

Shrugging, Krad said with an emotionless mask, "We could always drop you off in town the next time we dock. When you come of age, I'll strip him of his title and hand it over to you. Of course, we wouldn't see each other for some time, but at least you wouldn't have to deal with _him. _How does that sound?"

Satoshi scoffed and rolled his eyes. "I can tell you're just playing games with me. I know you couldn't leave me—you'd go crazy yourself. But…If you don't start taking this seriously, something bad is going to happen. And I know it's going to have something to do with Kei Hiwatari."

Grumbling and furrowing his brows, Krad ran a delicate hand through his fine hair and closed his eyes. "I _am_ taking this seriously, I was just making a suggestion ... And you aren't helping me. Either way, though, I've noticed something in that man, and I don't like it. I know he's trouble, but I just can't do anything about that right now."

Satoshi shook his head. "Well maybe you should _try._ He's planning something with some of the crew, and I don't think they're making plans for a party, Krad. He's got them wrapped around his little finger—If he says the word, they'll obey!"

"Keep your voice down…you never know who might be listening," Krad said as he drew his face nearer to Satoshi's. "You think they'd follow him before me?"

Satoshi nodded, and opened his mouth to speak before the cabin door creaked open and a certain brown haired male walked in. "Oh. Am I disturbing something?" He asked, a grin plastered on his wily features.

Krad inwardly growled, and Satoshi looked no happier the he had when he first came to the blonde. Masking the anger, Krad forced a smile and said, "Not at all, Mister Hiwatari, please come in. What can I help you with?"

Kei Hiwatari stepped into the ornate quarters and looked around with a greedy eye—this both Satoshi and Krad noted. "We've seen a ship. Upon closer inspection it appears to be the one we've been after."

Krad stood and raised an eyebrow. "The _KokuYoku_?"

Kei lazily turned his head to regard the captain with prying eyes, and nodded after a long moment. "Yes, that would be the one."

"Then I'm needed on deck if we are to apprehend—"

Kei interrupted Krad as the blonde spoke, already on his way to the door, "That won't be necessary. I'm sure I can handle this."

Krad stopped mid-step and turned to the man. "What did you say?"

Satoshi watched, not making a move.

"I said," the brunette repeated, "That I can handle this. We don't need your help, captain."

Krad turned to coldly regard his second-mate, and frowned. "You don't need my help, you need my commanding. None aboard but me have the skills to take down Dark Mousy—not even you."

"I disagree. Now, captain, I'm not asking nicely anymore. We don't need your help—we expect you to stay in your quarters like a good little boy and let us do the work." Kei said, stepping closer to Krad.

"How _dare_ you?" Krad hissed, as he stood his ground. "I may be younger then you," He said to the ever-nearing man, "but I am your superior commander! What right have _you_ to command _me_?" Before Kei could answer, Krad spoke again, "Satoshi—come here, _now._"

The boy did so, sensing the tension between the two in the room, and walked to Krad's side.

Gripping the boy's shoulder, Krad led him to the door and walked him out, ignoring Kei for the time being. The blonde paused in the doorway, blocking from Satoshi, he cocked his head backwards over his shoulder and said, "Mister Hiwatari, I apologize for any inconveniences you may have, but you've crossed the line. I am absolutely furious with this little stunt, and after all the other incidents that have occurred recently, this is the last straw. You are hereby relieved of all duties you have aboard this ship, and at the next docking, I expect you to leave this vessel. If you refuse to comply, I will deal with you myself," And before Kei could make any sort of retort, Krad closed the door tightly behind him.

"You shouldn't have done that…" Satoshi hissed.

Krad said nothing, and strode down the hallway towards the stairs that led to the deck. "It doesn't matter, now," He said, at last as he turned to find Satoshi right behind him. "What's done is done and I can't change anything."

"That's true, I suppose, but still…" Satoshi shook his head warily.

"No, no, don't worry about anything. We have more important matters to consider. The necklace…?"

Krad's eyes left the pallid boy's face and settled on a small lump concealed beneath his flaxen shirt. Satoshi's hand immediately flew to said article of jewelry, clutching it gently. "It's safe. Why?"

"With all that's been going on…just make sure nothing happens to it. If something should occur, now would be the opportune time. Don't let your guard down…am I clear?"

Satoshi's eyes lingered on Krad's concerned face for a long moment before his hand dropped back down to his side. He nodded, then, releasing a sign. "Right, I'll remember that. So…Dark's ship has been sighted?"

Krad nodded. "I suppose so." He shook his head and paused, as if considering something. A long moment later, he knelt down in front of Satoshi, placing both hands on the boy's shoulders. "Listen to me," he said as his golden eyes met blue, "Just remember this: If anything _does_ happen to me, I want you to pretend like you were against me the whole time, okay?"

Satoshi was silent for a moment before his lips curved into a frown. "You expect me to lie?"

Krad bit his lip, and nodded, his gaze lingering to the wooden floor below him. If anything, this boy wouldn't lie to save his own life, so what were the chances—

"I'll do it."

Krad blinked and looked back up. "You will?"

Satoshi nodded. "I have to. If I don't, they'll kill me on the spot, and if they do that, there will be no one to testify against them when I take the case to the judges."

Krad nodded, and smiled slightly as he stood to his feet. Patting his shoulder slightly before walking on deck, Krad murmured, "There's a good boy, just remember not to do anything stupid, either. Nothing like what you pulled last month, all right?"

Satoshi nodded and bit back a dry chuckle as Krad chanced a quick glance to the upper deck. "Just remember," the blonde said, turning towards the stairs, "Keep yourself safe, and that necklace, too. Don't mess this up…"

The blonde didn't turn around before stalking up onto deck. Satoshi watched him, and stood, frozen in place for a few long seconds. He shook himself out of his dazed state a moment later, and sighed deeply before making his way above deck.

------------------------------

Krad blinked at the bright sunlight, focusing his view across the ocean and onto a not-too-faraway ship. The vessel, drawing closer with each passing moment, even from this distance, was obviously quite a treasure.

Looming on the horizon, it's massive shape was a wonder in itself to behold, and the size—a complete other attribute to be worshipped. Krad almost felt a twinge of jealously, but shook it off. His own ship was fine, he concluded, allowing his fingers to trace the railing as he walked toward his vessel's wheel.

Subconsciously, as he neared it and drifted away from the railing, his hand traced its way down to his belt, and he now lightly ran his fingers over an ornate pair of guns, and then over to the sword that hung next to them. He sighed heavily, and raised his vision to the man at the wheel. "How long have they been in vision?"

The man shrugged, and then replied gruffly, "Several moments or so. Don't know—I wasn't paying attention."

Krad nodded. "Alright," he said as he walked over to another man. "Tell the crew to prepare for confrontation. Tell them to pick up the pace, if they can."

The black eyes of the other man flashed as he watched his captain, and had Krad been any lesser man he might have flinched. But…he wasn't, and he had other duties to attend to, so he let the action slip. Perhaps, he pondered, as he walked around this ship dishing out orders, this man would join Kei when they docked. Satoshi's words of caution rang through his mind, and the blonde caption began to wonder if he should just get a new crew entirely…

For the next few moments, there was only the sound of orders being shouted, and that of the ship being worked—of men organizing weapons and pushing harder to meet their captain's desires.

And then…the two ships, each ornately different in nearly every aspect, came in boarding distance. Silently ordering his crew to draw out the ladder, Krad waited and watched the other ship's crew with a deadly gaze. Satoshi had risen to deck by now, as had Kei Hiwatari, and each regarded Krad with a look that was more or less as different as each of the ships.

Krad cocked his head over his shoulder, and as much as he didn't like it, gestured for his second in command to come towards him. The man did so, and stood before the plank that connected both ships as Krad stepped across it and onto The '_Kokuyoku'_.

"Where is Dark Mousy?" He called out, very clearly across the silent ship, aware of every eye that scanned over his form.

There was pause, and Krad had momentarily feared there would be no answer, when he heard, although muffled, a voice call, "Right here!" and soon after a purple haired figure emerged from a crowd of people. "Who are you?"

Krad kept his face emotionless, and said, as he traced his finger over his choice weapon—his saber, and replied, "I am Krad Hikari. To make things short, I have been ordered by my king to take you for judgment. Will you come peacefully, or will I have to drag you with me?"

Dark was silent for a long moment before a grin cracked on his features. "You're here to take me in? I was hoping they'd send someone else, soon—someone that wasn't half as ugly as that last twit that came after me!" Dark said, his grin widening slightly. The blonde rolled his eyes. "It doesn't matter. I'm here to apprehend you either way, so can we just get this over with? I have more important things to do then deal with the likes of you, anyway."

Dark frowned, then. "More important then me? I hope your joking. In fact, you _must _be joking. _You_ expect to be the one who captures me? You look like you'll break if I come at you!"

Krad's eyes flashed at the slight insult, and he made a slight jerk of his arm as he reached to grip his weapon, and then…a shot rang through the air.

No one moved, but all eyes were on one of two people. The first person was the flaxen haired captain who stood in shock, as blood began to stain his white top—a bullet having cut through his entire frame, and the other, was his second in command—the man who held a gun still aimed at the figure.

Krad let out a light whimper, audible only to the man that stood closest to him, his eyes rolling into the back of his head soon after. He crumpled to the deck like a child's quickly disregarded toy.

Kei Hiwatari smirked in triumph, as he gloated over his action. Facing his crew, he said, "It appears that the previous captain will no longer be with us. As his second in command, I will now resign his duty. As your new captain," he said with an evil grin, "I say we take off as soon as possible. We can deal with this vermin another day."

There was a loud roar, and the crew of the '_Archaic Light'_ set immediately to work—all but one boy having completely abandoned the dying man that had once been their captain.

Kei caught Satoshi's vacant stare on the bloody figure and wandered over to the cabin boy. "You," he called. "Do you disagree with what I have done?"

The boat shifted as it began to pull away from the other vessel, and Satoshi fought to stand his ground. He looked up into the eyes of the man towering over him, and said sternly, "I do not, sir."

Kei's smile widened. "There's a good boy," and Satoshi inwardly winced at those familiar words, "Now, let's get to work, my second mate."

Satoshi shook his head. "Second mate?"

"You deserve that title, so yes. You are my second mate—if you accept, of course."

Satoshi frowned. "I'm not of age, though…"

"That doesn't matter," Kei said as he walked past Satoshi; as _his_ ship sailed further away.

Meanwhile, Dark watched the ship sail away, and cursed in anger as it began to disappear. "Filthy," he muttered as it grew smaller on the horizon.

How could any man be so disgusting as to fire upon his captain and then so gleefully announce his promotion in ranking? The violet haired male fought down the urge to chase after the ship and blow it to smithereens.

Breaking away from his moment of rage as his amethyst eyes fell on the still bleeding blonde before him, Dark turned to his crew and yelled, "Someone get the doctor—and you—Daisuke! Help me carry him downstairs!"

------------------------------

_Well, I've started a new story, and I hope you guys like this one. Either way, please review and tell me if you've found any errors of things of the sort. Thank you for reading! By the way, to those of you that have decided to go about and reread this chapter for god knows why, I want you to know that as of April 28, 2006, I have finally gone over this and proofread it, making corrections and changing things. Good god, it's been over half a year since I started this and I've only just begun…_


	2. II

_Oceans of the Unforeseen_

_Kyuseisha no Hikari_

_Chapter 2_

_--_

Emiko sighed, as she leaned over the pale figure that was covered in an icy sweat. "Captain," she said to the purple haired pirate that stood looming behind her. "Take Daisuke out of here—I don't want him to see this."

"But _mom,_" the boy protested, although he only received a stern glare from his mother, and a scoff from Dark. "I'm supposed to be giving the orders around here," he said.

Emiko rolled her eyes and shot Dark a glare, too. "Well, you want my help, so you'll listen to me. Get out _now_ or I can't save him! And I refuse to work with my son in here!"

"Sheesh-okay!" Dark murmured as he ushered Daisuke out of the room. "I'll leave you to your work, then—but call for me as soon as you're done. Or if you need anything. Even if—"

Emiko shot him another stern glare, issuing the order for him to leave her alone, lest she protest on performing this surgery. Dark caught the hint, and closed the door behind him, leaving the woman to her work.

--

"So…why did you save him in the first place?"

Dark raised an eyebrow at the young boy, watching the wind ruffle his hair playfully. "Save who—that Krad fellow?"

Earning a silent nod from Daisuke, Dark sighed heavily. "I don't really know," he said after a long pause. "It just…came on impulse."

Daisuke stifled a giggle, and turned his face away in an attempt to keep the older male from noticing. Unfortunately, it was a wasted effort, and Dark smirked. "Come on, Dai—what's so funny?"

The redhead shook his head, and looked at his captain, still smiling. " I just had a weird thought."

Dark let out an over dramatic sigh. "So have we _all_. What was it?"

Daisuke shook his head. "I'm not telling you—you might get mad!"

Placing a hand on his chin, Dark contemplated something for a moment, and then said, "If you don't tell me, I'll feed you to the sharks."

Daisuke's face paled slightly, and the smile vanished off of his face for a brief second. "You…you can't do that!"

"I'm a _pirate, _I can do whatever I damn well please."

"Watch your mouth," Came a voice from behind him, and Dark nearly jumped when he saw Towa's eyes glowering down upon him.

"Hey!" he said, standing up and looking at the girl. "What were you doing back there?" he said, gesturing to the pile of crates he and Daisuke had been leaning against not but a moment ago.

"Oh, you know, things," she said with a sly grin.

"What type of things?" Dark said as he crossed his arms, and looked closely at the girl.

"_Girl_ things. You wouldn't understand, you being a boy and all…"

Dark growled and stomped his foot. "_Dammit_! I'm your captain and neither of you are telling me anything. _It isn't supposed to work like that_!"

"Oh, _re-lax. _I was just teasing. Emiko sent me, she says she's done," Towa said, as she twirled a strand of gray hair around her delicate index finger.

"She is?" Dark said, stepping immediately towards the exit.

"Whoa! Hey—what's the rush?" Came the high-pitched voice from behind him, and he half turned on his heels to face her. She wore a mischievous grin, and Daisuke, too, looked as though he was pondering some concept Dark had yet to grasp. "What's up with you two," he said with a raised brow.

"Nothing, Captain Dark—you'd better get to your captive, though," Daisuke said with an indifferent shrug. "It seems like you're having a hard time staying away from him as it is…"

Growling lightheartedly, Dark looked at Daisuke. "And just _what _are you implying?"

Towa burst out in laughter, at Dark, and he sighed heavily, gritting his teeth. "You think I've got the hots for that guy," he said with a forced smile.

"What—what else are we supposed to think!" Towa roared in-between her spasmatic laughing fits, and eventually she had to sit down to keep herself from falling over.

"Maybe that he's a potential threat!" Dark said, protesting against the other's beliefs.

"_Suuuureee_," Daisuke said, as he smiled happily at the fuming man, watching as he walked up the stairs.

--

Emiko grit her teeth as she gingerly sliced a deep gash across the man's exposed back, and listened to the unconscious figure emit a gasp of pain. She closed her eyes for a second, and then reached for a pair of emaciated tongs—perfect for removing bullets and other small objects, she had come to learn over the years.

Prying open the skin, she probed for the metallic ball, ignoring the warm blood that rushed over her fingers. This wasn't good—it appeared that he was losing far too much blood than he should have been, and she couldn't figure out why. The only logical reason was…that a vein or some other artery had been pierced.

Eyes flashing relief when she found the object that had so deeply perforated through the man, Emiko gave a gentle tug at it, wincing inwardly as hegave a light whimper. Ignoring him, though, she slowly pulled it out, and hurled both instrument and bullet to the floor as she ran to pick up an iron rod that had been heating a flame located in her room.

Determined to seal the injury, she picked up said rod, and walked over to the blonde that lay shirtless, bleeding in the cot. Lifting up his upper torso, she took a deep breath before pressing the red-hot pole against the wound, and blocked out the sound of the heat burning and hissing upon the pale flesh. A small moan escaped his lips, and if it was possible he seemed to pale even more, but Emiko smiled when she noticed his, although shallow, still steady breathing.

Nodding to herself, she gently reached for a roll of hand-woven bandages and began to carefully wrap them around his figure. Holding him at an angle now, his back facing the light, she looked at her handiwork, and then narrowed her eyes in order to get a better look at something she hadn't noticed before. All along the younger's back were varying lines, each different in size, width, length…and in complexion. It appeared to her as if something had tore away at his skin again and again.

Emiko sighed, and continued to wrap the roll around Krad's chest. Shaking her head at the scars he wore, she couldn't help but feel a sort of motherly remorse for him as she wondered what hardships he had to endure as a child; what hardships had cursed him with such scars.

--

Immediately following the removal of the bullet that had lodged itself right below the blonde's left shoulder bone, Emiko had called for her assistant Towa to retrieve Dark, as he had ordered, and scrubbed her hands in a basin of water as she waited.

It wasn't too long before the door to her room burst open, Dark dragging himself in. "Well?" he asked, masking anything other than curiosity. If he had actually _cared_ whether the blonde were to live or die, he certainly didn't make a notion of it.

"He lost blood," Emiko said, "But other than that nothing seemed to be harmed."

Dark nodded. "Alright. Thanks Emiko, this means a lot to me," he said as he shot her a smile.

Nodding, she forced a smile to return, but was still lost in thought. Dark shouldn't have noticed, but in the end, it would seem that he had. "Hey…Emiko…what's wrong?" he said as he walked over to her, placing a reassuring hand on her shoulder as she continued to scrub an overused cloth over her hands.

She shook her head and replied, "Nothing—that just took more out of me than I thought it was going to. It's not everyday one of you gets shot and I have to deal with it."

Dark nodded, giving a reassuring smile. "Don't worry, then. We don't normally make a habit of that. After all, it was his own man who shot him."

Emiko blinked, before her gaze returned to the sleeping man. "His own man?" she questioned. At the time of the shooting, she hadn't been in the immediate area, and had received little answers from Dark when he and her son had first arrived in her workstation carrying the bleeding figure. She was lucky enough to gather that he had come on a mission to capture Dark and had been hit by a foul shot.

Dark nodded. "If I'm correct, it was his second-hand man. The dirty bastard shot him right through the back in front of my crew and his, and then they all sat there and cheered when he fell."

"How horrible!" Emiko exclaimed, her brown eyes widening. "Does he know that or was he out of it at that time?"

Dark shrugged and pulled a chair out from a table and sat it in-between the cot and Emiko. "I don't know. I don't _think_ so, but that isn't something I would be willing to steak my life on."

"I see," she murmured as Dark shot a glance at Krad. "So," he said after a moment, "In his condition, he _shouldn't _be too much of a problem if he attacks, right?"

Emiko sighed, and shook her hands in the air in a feeble attempt to dry them. " I don't think so, but…well, it isn't something _I_ would stake my life on."

Dark nodded. "Then I'm just going to bind his wrists—will that interfere with his injury?"

"Not if you do it right. Just be careful or you'll mess up all my hard work, got it?" She said, waving a finger at her captain.

"Alright, alright. I'll be gentle. You don't happen to have any bandages—cloth or something, do you? I'd use rope, but all the ones I've got are too course, and they're a real pain," he said as he held up reddened palms for her to look out. No doubtedly he had been fooling around and latched onto one, and then gave himself rope burn on accident.

Emiko gave him an unyielding glare, and he chuckled nervously. "Yeah, so what. It's my ship, I can mess around," he said, almost as if he head read her mind.

"Just be _careful_!" she sighed, gripping the captain in a firm hug. "I don't want anything bad to happen to you!"

He smiled, and patted her on the back before pulling back from her hug slowly. "Don't worry about me—I'll be fine. You look tired—go get some sleep and the crew and I can keep an eye on him for you until you wake up, okay?"

Emiko nodded, and masked a yawn. "Alright," she said, standing up. "But only because that's the captains orders."

Dark smirked. "Sure, you say that _now_…"

"Oh, be quiet. I'll be back in a bit, captain."

"Sure thing," he muttered as he watched her exit the door. A moment passed, and then he drew his chair up to the side of the sleeping figure and exhaled a large breath.

"Damn…look at all the trouble you've caused," he said as he gripped the small remains of a once abundant roll of bandages, and unwound them slightly, gently reaching for the blonde's arms and encircling his wrists with the smooth fabric.

"Krad…that's an odd name," Dark said to himself as he wound the wrapping tighter, still taking great caution in his action. "Wonder where it came from…"

Shrugging it off, Dark made a tender knot that would still hold efficiently, and set the man's wrists atop a sheet of fabric afterdrawing said material up to just below Krad's chin.

Casting one last look at the blonde, Dark stood up and stepped outside. As captain, he had too many duties to fulfill to baby-sit a weakened enemy, no matter who it was or what the circumstances were. Stepping into the sunlight, his tanned face radiating with it's own brilliance, Dark turned to the nearest man, and set him to the task of watching over the blonde until Emiko could return to her post.

--

_Yes, well, it appeared that even though I had only started this one yesterday, several people had liked it greatly and urged me to continue, so here is chapter two for your pleasure. Again, I apologize for any mistakes (I can be rather lazy sometimes, so please forgive me) but I still hope you could enjoy this chapter. Thanks for everyone who spent time reading and reviewing to this, and I want you to know that your comments greatly helped me write this chapter._

_**Koway Oceshia wrote:**_

_**please continue and update this story son! I love it already! what's going to **__**happen to krad? curse that kei...argh! you did a great job! . please update**__**! on favorites!**_

_Thank you—I'm glad that you enjoy this story and you show so much enthusiasm as to what might happen next. You comment has greatly helped me, and I hope you can enjoy this chapter as much as the first._

_**sakurasango wrote:**_

_**OMG if you do not continue this fic I will hunt you down! I swear! This is just **__**amazing. I mean yes I love a lot of pirate fics but this one is just amazing. I **__**didn't want it to end. I'm sittin here readin it fallin in love with it, almost **__**forgettin that this is a fanfic and I'm almost expectin to turn the page then **__**boom it's the end. I hit your a/n and just die. There is no way that you can **__**just end it here! I mean no!**__**So you hafta update soon or else I'll hunt you down 'n force you to write more!**__**Can't wait for the next update! Till then, **__**Saku**_

_Well, I'm glad you would hunt me down if I didn't continue this story—I promise to update as soon as possible. And thank you for all of your wonderful comments, they really helped me right this story and gave me motiviation to post this chapter up tonight. I hope you enjoyed this chapter and will continue to follow this story until the end!_

_**Kimika wrote:**__**I really liked it! Krad is described very well, in my opinion. I think it's a **__**great start. I'm looking forward to your next chapters! Update soon**_

_Thank you for your wonderful comments, and I hope this update was soon enough for you!_

_**neko-nya wrote:**_

_**Nya**_

_**You posted it! XD So Krad was on Dark's ship:S Kei's a bum O he indirectly **_

_**kidnapped Satoshi, in some strange way...yes! I was hoping you'd name the ship **_

_**Kokuyoku, black wings, whatever XD update soon Dark the smexy pirate king **_

_I did post it-I was glad that I could finish the first chapter last night, and this chapter tonight. I hate to be so short, but I'm on a very tight schedule, so to make things short, thank you for your wonderful review, and I hope that you enjoyed this chapter!  
_

_**Kikyogurl **_

_**THIS STORY IS SO AWESOME!**_

_**i mean with the way that they're all pirates on the opposite sides... so cool!**_

_**being an editor myself, the editing was really impressive... smooth moving **__**throughout the plot and flow of ideas... almost non-existant grammer mistakes **__**and errors...**_

_**i'd give this story a 10/10!**_

_**just update a whole lot! cause most of the really good stories never get updated **__**while the crappy ones never seem to stop...**__**newaz, i gotta go, but plz keep updating on this story! make it have some **__**kewl-io twists like krad joins dark's crew and the navy sends kei to capture the**__**black wings...**_

_**i dont know... just playin with some random ideas...**_

_Thank you for your wonderful review, and I promise to address it properly in my next chapter, so until then, please accept my thanks for your wonderful review—it really motivated me to update this tonight. I hope you enjoyed it!_

_**Cheyenne wrote:**_

_**pirates are smexah, especially if htye carry the name Dark Mousy with them! **_

_**Great work! -bows- i must be on my way...to roleplay with you! XD**_

_Indeed they are, and thanks for reviewing! It really means a lot to me that you read this!_

_**0.o K-chan wrote:**_

_**Yesh, pheer teh ebil Kei!**_

_**Waah! Krad-sama! That bastard! Why I oughtta--! Grr...**_

_**Hahaha...lol. Wai! I'm waiting for an update!**_

_**Ed is NOT a shrimp,**_

_**K-chan**_

_I feel the same way, let me tell you! Anyway, thank you for your review, it really means a lot to me that you would take your time to do that for this story. Enjoy the early update!_


	3. III

_Oceans of the Unforeseen_

_Kyuseisha no Hikari_

_Chapter 3_

_--_

Groggily opening his eyelids no more than a crack, Krad's gaze drifted about for half a second, and then—they flashed open fully, and he jerked foreword violently in the shock of his unfamiliar surroundings. Unfortunately his violent action sent waves of pain throughout his entire frame, and he winced and moaned before dropping back onto the sheets.

Biting his lip to the point of drawing blood, he took sharp intakes of breath as he tried to lose the feeling. As it was, his struggles did not prove to be futile, and eventually the pain ceased to quaver through his entirety.

"Please try not to do that—it was a pain to fix you up, you know."

Krad forced his eyes opened and ignored the trickle of blood that slowly gathered on his lips. "Who…?"

The figure lowered the book she had only just recently had her nose in, and looked over the blonde. "It doesn't matter right now. How are you feeling?"

Krad blinked, his eyes narrowing in distrust. "What reason have I to tell you?" he hissed, glaring into her eyes.

"My, my," she murmured as she stood up. "I would have expected at least a _little_ bit of gratitude, but…" her voice drifted off as she walked over to the door and stepped through it, closing it tightly behind her.

Krad grit his teeth and shifted positions slightly, in an attempt to move to a less vulnerable position without causing harm to himself. Lifting himself up gently with his elbows, he noticed two things.

One, that he was unable to move his hands. Upon inspection, he found to his displeasure that his hands had been bound to the point in which he could barely move them. Two was, that he was without a shirt.

As the sheet fell, exposing his pale chest, he glanced down at crimson stained bandages wrapped around his torso and narrowed his eyes as he tried to recollect what had happened. While doing so, he gently eased his back against the wall, resting his weary form on the solid structure.

A moment later, his mind was still blank, so he looked up and eyed the room speculatively. A door opened just then, and the blonde cocked his head to view the one who now entered—only to see the face of Dark Mousy.

Krad glared silently he waited, and the purple haired captain stepped into the room and walked over to him.

"So…" Dark said, drawing a chair next to the cot and seating himself, "Did you sleep well?"

Krad scoffed, willing his glare to become more intense, but said nothing.

And Dark laughed.

A mask of confusion washed over Krad's features as the pirate _laughed_ at him, and drew a square of white cloth from his pocket, and drew it up to Krad's lips.

Dabbing it lightly, Dark said, "And what happened here?"

The blonde blinked, and pulled his head backwards. "What?"

Dark shrugged, and showed the blonde the cloth stained with his blood before folding it over and setting it on the bedside table.

Dark leaned back in his chair and looked curiously at the blonde. There was a long silence as the blonde stood, scrutinized by his enemy before he growled, "Why did you just do that?"

"Wouldn't you like to know?" Dark said, flashing a smirk. Actually…he didn't know himself…

"Yes. What are you doing here—what am _I_ doing here!"

"Calm down, calm down. No one's going to hurt you—well," Dark said as he gestured for the blond to relax. "At least, no one's going to hurt you unless you try to pull something on my ship. Or elsewhere, for that matter."

Krad's eyes flashed. "So…on your ship," he murmured.

Dark caught the words spoken, and nodded. "Yeah. And Emiko was the one that patched you up."

Krad said nothing, and moved his gaze to the end of the bed.

Dark watched him, and was about to say something when there was a sudden clanging coming from on deck. Looking apologetically at the blonde, he said, "Sorry—I have to go," and he stood up.

Krad said nothing, his gaze not changing in the slightest as Dark left the room.

--

Walking away from the still-ringing bell, Daisuke shook his head and watched as Dark walked up the stairs and onto the deck, and ran over to him.

"So, what happened?" asked the smaller of the two.

Dark ran a hand through his hair. "Nothing. Apparently he has social issues."

"Or just doesn't like you," Daisuke said as he looked up into the cloudless sky.

"Well, _that's _a very nice thing to say, Dai," Dark muttered as he walked to the railing and rested his elbows on it.

"Well," said the red-head, following him, "you have to remember that he _did_ come here saying that you were enemies or something."

"I know, I know. I just don't know what we're going to do with him…"

"Why did you take him in, then? Daisuke said as he looked up at the older man.

"I don't _know_, Dai. All I _do_ know is that even if he doesn't like me, I'm not just going to leave him in that room for god knows how long. That'd be like torture or something," Dark said, cursing under his breath.

"Maybe you won't have to leave him in there. He doesn't really have anywhere to go," Daisuke said slowly, as he placed a finger on his chin and closed his eyes in thought.

"What do you mean?" Dark said, lazily looking over to the boy.

"Well, you _could_ let him around the ship—I mean, it isn't like we _can't_ take him down, and my mom said that he wouldn't be much of a fight if he decided to act up while he was recovering, so…"

Dark nodded. " I see what you're saying. But how do you know he won't try to after someone?"

Daisuke rolled his eyes. "It looked like he was only after _you_. Why should the rest of us have to worry?"

"Daisuke! How could you?" Dark said, chuckling. "But I guess that'll have to work."

--

Krad sat on the cot, and sighed deeply. Kei Hiwatari and shot him in the back, and was probably running to the king right now claiming that Krad had fallen overboard or some pathetic excuse that ended up with him captain and Krad 'dead'. And for all he knew, he might be in a thin matter of time.

Fiddling with the cloth that held his hands, Krad sighed stared weakly at the binding.

"You know you won't get that off," came a voice from the door, and Krad turned to regard the man coolly.

"What makes you think I was trying to get it off?"

"It was a joke. You hungry?" Dark said as he walked inside, holding a plate with steaming contents, and a folded cloth.

Krad shook his head, and looked away in a halfhearted attempt to ignore the pirate captain.

Dark merely shrugged and set the food on the table and threw the folded cloth onto the bed, next to the blonde.

After giving it a hesitant glance, Krad raised his eyes to meet Dark's. "What do you want me to do with it?"

Dark rolled his eyes. "It's a shirt. You _wear_ it—ring a bell?"

Krad rolled _his_ eyes. "I _know_ what it is—how do you expect me to put it on?"

"I—oh…yeah," he said sheepishly when he looked at the blonde's wrists. "Hold on, then," he said, kneeling next to the blonde. He reached out with nimble fingers, straining to release the knots.

"Are you sure that's such a good idea?" Krad said as he watched Dark's hands move quickly, unbinding the fabric.

"No. But I'll give you a chance."

"Why?"

"I don't know—because I don't know you?" Dark replied.

"But didn't I come to annihilate you—how do you know I won't murder you in your sleep or something?"

"I'll make sure to lock my door at night," Dark said with a grin, and the blonde sighed, "Can't you take anything seriously?"

"I can, but I choose not to," he said, pulling the cloth entirely off of the blonde's wrists.

The blond sighed, and rubbed his wrists. Although the wrapping had not been tight, he was still relieved to find it off.

He said nothing, merely gave a short nod of thanks to Dark, who again, just shrugged. What else was he supposed to do?

"Ah…Daisuke—you don't know him, but he's the one who takes care of the crew when I'm too busy to, doesn't want you to stay down here the whole time you're on board, so when you get better you can go pretty much wherever you want, and…." Dark's voice drifted off. "I'm rambling," he said after a second, "but the point is: as soon as you feel up to walking around, you can do whatever you want—excluding cause trouble, got it?"

"And if I feel fine right now?" Krad asked, a tinge of rebellion flowing with his voice.

"Then, hell, do whatever you want," Dark muttered as he sat down.

"Well then, I will," Krad returned, narrowing his eyes.

"Fine, go ahead—I won't stop you. Emiko might, but I won't."

There was the sound of a door opening, and Emiko stepped in. "Emiko might do what?"

"Nothing," Dark said as he stood up. "You probably want me to leave again, huh?" he said to the woman.

She nodded. "Just for a few minutes—you can come back as soon as I'm done dressing the wound."

"Nah, that's okay," he said. "I'm busy right now."

"If you say so," she said as she watched the man walk out the door before turning to Krad.

"Would you please lean off the wall—I'd like to re-dress that wound of yours," she said as she picked up a pasty gauze and a new roll of cloth.

Krad shook his head, and meekly said, "That—that's alright, I can get it…"

"No, it isn't. It's easier if I just do it," she said as she moved the plate of food and set her working materials down in their stead.

"But—"

"No buts—I know why you don't want me to do it, but let me tell you, I was the who took that bullet out of you in the first place—I'm not going to see anything I haven't already before, okay?"

Krad nodded sullenly, as his face reddened slightly.

Emiko watched out of the corner of her eye as he moved himself so that she could be at a better angle. 'S_o…' _she thought, '_it **is** just the scars…'_

She sighed, taking a seat, and began gently pulled off the dirtied wrapping.

--

"Thank you…" he said as she finished, and stood up.

"Oh? You're welcome," Emiko said as she discarded the fabric into a wooden box.

"I'm…sorry about earlier," he added and sighed heavily.

"That's quite all right," she said and placed her hand on his shoulder reassuringly. "I can guess what it's like to wake up in some unfamiliar place with people you don't know all around you."

He nodded, and reached to pick up the soft, white shirt Dark had left for him earlier. Looking at it, he narrowed his eyes and thought, and the woman next to him laughed lightly.

He looked up to her, and she smiled down at him. "Do you need any help with that?" she asked lightly.

He shook his head. "No. I'll be fine."

She nodded, and turned. "Alright, well, I've got other things to do so I'll leave you alone for now."

Krad nodded, and a moment or two after she left he slowly pulled the shirt across his shoulders and took his time with buttoning it up.

There was a light knocking at his door, and he blinked, unsure what to do, so he silently waited.

A small red-haired boy slowly cracked open the door, and peeked his head inside. "Oh! You're awake?"

Krad nodded dumbly, and watched the boy enter his room.

"Hi! My name is Daisuke, and…I was wondering how you were…"

Krad swallowed. "Fine…"

"Oh, well, in that case—can I show you around?"

"Why would you want to do that?" Krad asked hesitantly, as he watched the boy with curiosity.

"Because…well, Dark says he doesn't know what's going and I thought you might like to get out…"

Krad nodded. "Thank you…that would be…nice."

Daisuke's face brightened. "Really?"

Krad nodded again, and weakly stood up, groaning in slight pain.

"Are you okay?" Daisuke said, concern lacing his voice.

"I'm fine, you shouldn't concern yourself with me," Krad said as he closed his eyes for a brief moment.

--

Krad sat, his eyes half closed, against the railing on the deck of the Black Wings. He was in a corner, blocking off the wind and the view of himself to the crew, with his arms wrapped limply around his knees.

The wind played lightly with his hair, and he paid it little mind, staring into the shadows caused by the mid-afternoon sun.

--

_Krad looked around, into the vast, cold land. It was white—everywhere he looked; from the snow covered ground to the jagged cliffs of ice in the distance. He took a hesitant step foreword, and an icy wind urged him to continue. He obeyed, and soon the wind and ice and snow had chilled him—he was shaking, the cold hurting him—numbing him. It sank past his flesh, into his bones, his core—became one with him. No longer did he feel the pain of ice._

_He kept walking, the wind urging him into a narrow pass between two jagged, icy cliffs with surfaces smoother then the wind, with a gloss no words could define. He continued walking, and the cliffs ended, there was a clearing of snow. _

_He walked foreward, and then jagged edges pierced the surface, building an icy wall around him. He backed up, and turned to escape the way he had come—but it was too late. He was trapped inside a crystal prison—all alone…so terribly, horribly alone._

_He looked up, and watched the white sky, waiting. Nothing happened for a long moment and then—there was a sharp pain—he was forced against one of the ice pillars, his back hitting it hardly. Another jagged spike began to grow from the earth, and it grew differently from the others—it didn't have the smooth, clean cut edges—it was gnarled and rough, and as it grew, it's toothed tip stretched towards Krad, and he watched in horror as it pierced a thin layer of his flesh, and then ever so slowly grew into him._

_He gasped, struggling to tear himself from the spike that crept ever closer to his heart, watching as pale red blood began to drip from his wound. Red…standing out from the white and blue and silver gray of this world contrasted greatly, and Krad watched in horror as he was impaled deeper—as his once red blood was now and icy blue color._

_He opened his eyes, watching as a layer of ice began to envelop him, trailing from his wound to his torso, to his feet—beginning to cover him in a sheen of icy perfection. He shook with the pain from his shoulder, and the ice began to freeze him inside—it was freezing his heart…_

_He couldn't breathe—he was dying, he **knew **__it! And he was scared—but not of dying—no, that didn't bother him…it was the fact that he was dying…all alone…so appallingly alone…_

"Krad!"

_--_

_This chapter is rather…dull, no? And, yes, the last part is a dream, just so that no one gets confused. I apologize if this chapter doesn't make sense, but I just need to put it up to continue the story. I hope you can forgive me if it is rather shoddily writen and all. Oh well, next time I update I'll try to put in some…more interesting scenes and such. Thank you for reading, and waiting for the update!_

_**Koway Oceshia wrote:**_

_**that was great! everything was in so much detail! everything! heey, I got first review! sweet! please please please please, please update this story as soon as you can! I love it! but kei, is he going to pay! I hope so, shooting a captain such as krad in front of two crews! argh! I love this story! hands sweets thankies fer the update!**_

_Thank you! I'm glad that you seem so interested in the story, and I apologize for the delay in updating. I had writer's block and was having a hard time trying to see if I could make this chapter any more interesting, but I guess I couldn't, now could I? Kei should definitely pay, and thank you for the sweets and for reading and reviewing to this!_

_**dimonyo-anghel wrote:**_

_**gr die kei hiwatari die! poor kraddy kun! i'd be hecka sad if my crew (those btches) shot me in the back and then cheered! i can imagine now what dark would look like in a pirate outfit o starry-eyed**_

_I'm not rather fond of Kei, so I figured he would be the jerk who would shoot poor Krad…I'd be rather upset if my crew did the same thing, as well! Dark would certainly look…even MORE appealing in a pirate outfit, no? Thank you for reviewing!_

_**neko-nya wrote:**_

_**Nya**_

_**Aw Dark's got the hots for Kraddy-kins can't blame him...whoa, Krad's been whipped? oo you seem to know alot about this pressing red hot metal against wounds thing O nu school started TT at least you can still update (faster than me) i lobed it update soon nya**_

_Dark MIGHT have the hots for Krad (okay…so he PROBABLY does XD)…and, yes, Krad has probably been whipped. I don't know as much about ret hot metal and wounds as I make it sound like I do, let me assure you. Thank you for the review—I'm glad to hear that you enjoyed it!_

_**Kimika wrote:**_

_**Woah. That WAS fast! Okay, this chapter was awesome! I can't wait till Krad wakes up..And are there any relations of anyone on Dark's crew? Is Emiko Daisuke's mother? I'm not sure if you wrote about it yet..Gah, I have a short memory. Anyhow..Update soon! You updated so fast this time, keep it up! Ah...I love pirates!**_

_I'm afraid my other updates won't be as fast, though. I'm glad that you enjoyed that chapter, and…I don't think I wrote Krad waking up very well…I may re-write this chapter later and edit some things, but I'm far too tired to do that at the moment (please forgive me!) Emiko IS Daisuke's mother, and I think I did write it…well, maybe not—I forget. Thank you for your review, and I hope this chapter isn't TOO terribly bad!_

_**imafrEEkinhobbit wrote:**_

_**i heart you. hands several batches of cookies stares at comp screen, waiting for next update**_

_Thank you! I'm sorry this update took far longer then the others, but I was stuck with what to do—and I realized that I couldn't make you guys wait any longer, so I updated today. Sorry that this chapter isn't very well written…and I think Krad is out of character…but oh well, I'll have to fix that later…_

_**Zy-chan wrote:**_

_**Me likely! Please update soon! If not I'll...uh...I'll...I'll send my cookies of doom to force you to update! HAHAHAHHAHAHAcoughHAHAHHAHAHAHAHA! --ZY-CHAN**_

_I'm so glad to hear that you like this! I'm sorry about the delayed update, and the shoddy manner this chapter is written in (please don't sick your cookies of doom on me!) but I hope you like it anyway! Thank you for your review!_

_**Daaku Hisaki wrote:**_

_**Oh my kami! What a wondefully well-written and played out story! You have to update soon! I want to know what happens!**_

_Thank you! I'm sorry to have made you wait so long for this update, but here it is, and as bad as it may be, I hope you can enjoy it!_

_**Animegoil wrote:**_

_**Nifty nifty. Cool idea. Is this... shounen-ai? hopeful Awesome idea, it really seems like this could prove very fruitful, and it's already been entertaining to read. Can't wait til Krad wakes One thing is you use then isntead of than several times. then is used for time, than is used to compare things. But other than that... good grammar and spelling, etc. the plot so far is interesting, charaacters are IC... and I'm hoping you'll update soon! Poor Krad! pats him on the back Oh wait, that would hurt him... pats him... on his head?**_

_Thank you! It…probably will be shounen-ai, and I'm glad you think this may be a good story. I'm glad to hear that it's at least a little bit entertaining. I apologize for my mistakes with 'then' and 'than' I was in a bit of a hurry (I always seem to be, you know…) and my fingers just typed the word, not the correct form. Thank you for correcting that for me! And for reviewing!_

_**Rinoki Rio wrote:**_

_**I hope my other review got through - aww Dark watches over little sleeping Krad. And Daisuke and Towa have got the right idea! I honestly can't wait for more! Bye-cha!**_

_I believe it did get through, thank you! I'm glad to hear that you can't wait for more, and I'm glad that I could update…even though this chapter is rather…weird….Thank you!_

_**Angsty Freedom Fighter wrote:**_

_**There should be a club called the 'K2', short for Kill Kei! Anyways, that vent pushed out of the way...It's such a bloody brilliant story you have going on, really. I'm enjoying every minute of it! -Krad and Dark amuse me so. I can never get enough of them. Still, every little bit counts and your story tacks on as one of the many good fics to quell my Dark/Krad hunger! Add more soon, **_

_**please glower Or you may very well have an angry mob chasing after you, heheh!**_

_**Angst**_

_I would join that club! Thank you for the compliment on my story—I'm glad to hear that you are enjoying it! Krad and Dark are very amusing—I can't get enough of them either! I'm glad this story is good enough for you, and I apologize for how badly this chapter is written and for the long delay. Please forgive me!_

_**Aj wrote:**_

_**I think it was rather brilliant and discriptive I look forward to your other stories although it bothers me that you left a cliff hanger on such a good story your very good though.**_

_Ah, I apologize for the cliff hanger I had on chapter 1. I'm glad to hear that you are enjoying this, although you won't for long…_

_**Cheyenne wrote:**_

_**BWAHAHA! that was awesome...and Ed isn't a shrimp...he just never drank his milk..that reminds me for a poster for school i am gonna draw Roy holding Ed's metal arm (he took it off) and he says "Recycle" and Ed would be pissed...ok bye! Great work -wants to read next chapter-**_

_I'm glad you are so pleased with this. Erm…what did Ed and Roy have anything to do with Dark and Krad? Just teasing. Hope you enjoyed this chapter (even though it's bad…)_

_**white wrote:**_

_**Whoot! One of the coolest fanfic EVER! please continue XD krad x dark**_

_Thank you! I'm glad to hear that you like my story so much! I apologize for the delayed update (I hope you aren't TOO mad at me…) and hope you can forgive me if this chapter is a little odd…it was written in a bit of a hurry, you see…well, anyway—thank you for your review!_

_**sakurasango wrote:**_

_**Oh my god! You updated. And so soon! I'm sorry I didn't get to it sooner. **_

_**School has just been taking all of my time. But let's get to the review shall we...**_

_**Ok this is gettin really good. I can already tell that there's gonna be a lot of**_

_**tension on that ship. I love how Daisuke is already teasin Dark. Heh, can't **_

_**wait for when Krad finally awakens. Then when Krad finds out that his own man **_

_**shot him- unless he already knows- oh. Can't wait for more!**_

_**I love how your writting this, it's just amazing. Very well done. I like it a **_

_**lot! You describe the characters so well, that it's almost as though I can see **_

_**them right before me.**_

_**Anyways keep up this awesome fic. I can't wait for more! Update soon again! **_

_**Saku**_

_I'm sorry I didn't update THIS story so soon—school and writers block have prevented me from doing so…I'm glad you think that this story is getting good; there will most certainly be a lot of tension. I'm glad you like the teasing as well, and even though Krad awoke in this chapter…I wish I could have written it better…and I wonder if he already knows if Kei shot him…I can't remember! ' I'm glad you like my writing style, and hope that you can get over how odd this chapter is…I promise that I'll try to include better chapters later, but I had to have this chapter in here to help move the story along. Thank you!  
_

_**xpeachiex wrote:**_

_**Goodness. You are an amazing writer. The details are great. You fit the perfect **_

_**adjectives with the perfect words. Imagery would have to be an A+. Diction? A+**_

_**. Your story is great, so far the plot is great too. Nice flow. and the idea is **_

_**great. Pirates. Come on. Who else thought of that? Keep up the fantastic work. **_

_**Bonzer! Right Australian geek here. It means Excellent. –peachie**_

_Thank you very much! I'm glad you have so many positive things to say about my story! Thank you, and I hope that you can accept this late update and this horribly written chapter…it was only here to help move the story along, you see…and…well, Thank you!_

_**DaredevilX wrote:**_

_**Very very nice! This is the first pirate ficcie I've read concerning this couple...and I must say I'm enjoying it immensely. Please update soon!**_

_Thank you! I'm glad to hear that you are enjoying it, and I apologize for the late update (and how badly this chapter was written…I just had to have it to move the story along and…well, you see how that went…) and hope that you can forgive me!_

_**sakurafairy wrote:**_

_**YAY! I love this story! It's so good! I love the details, the plot, etc etc. I can go on forever but I don't wanna. It's way past my usual bedtime & I must wake up early tmorrow or...uhh...something. Hoping you update soon!**_

_I'm glad to hear that you love this story and think it is so good! Thank you for reviewing, and I hope you can forgive me for the late update and for how badly this chapter (that I only put up because it had to be here) was written! Thank you!  
_

_**Misteline wrote:**_

_**Egad. This is so good. I haven't read much Dark/Krad at all so this would be a **_

_**good start. Is there going to be any Satoshi/Daisuke? xD I just love that **_

_**pairing as well. :D**_

_Thank you! There will probably be some Dai/Sato, as soon as they meet, so please just wait until that happens! (it may be towards the end, but I promise that it will be there!) Thank you for the review, and I hope that you can forgive me for the late update (and for the badly written filler chapter that this one was…')!_


	4. IV

_Oceans of the Unforeseen_

_Kyuseisha no Hikari_

_Chapter 4_

_--_

"_Krad!"_

The blonde's eyes shot open and he gasped for breath, as he looked into the eyes of Dark Mousy.

It was only then did he realize the scorching heat coming from both his arms, and he cocked his head to the side to view what was causing the pain. It was…Dark?

"Krad! Thank god—what the hell's going on—you're freezing!" Dark yelled as he pulled the blonde to his feet.

So…that's why Dark's hands were so hot…

"Come with me—" Dark said, dragging the blonde away from the little niche he had buried himself in earlier that day, towards the small room he had been taking residence in earlier.

Dark pushed the blonde down lightly on the bed, drawing a multitude of thickly woven blankets atop his shoulder, watching the blonde warm up enough for his body to register the numbness.

Krad began to shiver uncontrollably, and Dark did the only thing he could—he sat down on the bed next to Krad, and pulled the blonde into a tight embrace.

"W-Wha—Dark! What the he-hell?" Krad spat, before tugging away from Dark in a feeble attempt that would have the pirate captain release him.

"Shh!" he yelled in return, glaring at the blonde. "I was just trying to help you, so calm down—no, don't try to struggle, I'm not letting you go!"

Krad shook ceaselessly, and shuddered at Dark's words. "J-just go away…"

"I will not—you're on my ship and It's my duty to make sure everything and everyone is all right; I don't care if you tried to kill me or not, so just shut up and let me do what I feel necessary!"

The blonde, appalled by the pirate's words, could think of nothing to say, and with his body trembling to such extremities, he wasn't sure there was even anything he _could_ say.

It was a good number of minutes before the blonde finally warmed up enough to stop shaking, and Dark released him from his embrace. His violet eyes scanning the pallid figure, he asked, "Do you want to talk?"

Krad shook his head, signaling very firmly that he did _not_.

"Was it…a nightmare?"

The blonde stiffened, and Dark knew he had hit his mark. "It was, I see…are you _sure_ you don't want to talk? It helps take some of the pressure off, you know…Daisuke told me that."

Flashing and angry glance at Dark, Krad mumbled, "You'd laugh…"

"I would not, on my honor laugh at you. And…if you wanted, anything you say to me will not leave this room," he said, gently urging the blonde to tell what nightmare could have possibly bothered him to such an extent.

"I…" sighing heavily, the blonde cast a tentative glance towards the man, and said to him, " Why would you do that?"

"Do what?"

"Try to help me…"

"Because," he said, "I don't think that you're really all that bad. I kinda want to help you," he added, scratching the back of his head nervously.

"Don't think I'm that bad?" Krad said slowly. "What _ever_ gave you that idea?"

Pushing his lips out in thought, Dark said, "You really just don't come across to me as a 'bad guy'. I mean…you didn't try to pull anything today, you were kinda…staying out of everybody's way, there weren't any threats—Emiko even said she wanted to spend some time with you when you were feeling better."

"Oh…" was all Krad could say.

"Yeah, well, just letting you know. Now, do you want to talk or not?" Dark asked, throwing his offer out again.

The blonde closed his eyes heavily, his brows furrowing. A moment passed, and then he said, "I'll tell you…"

The other male nodded, taking a seat in the chair next to Krad's bed, and looked at the blonde as he waited for him to begin.

"It's stupid…" Krad said slowly.

"I can't tell you if it is or it isn't…all things considered…" Dark said, trying to urge to blonde to continue.

"Ice. Everywhere I look is ice…" The blonde said after yet another moment. "It doesn't bother me, but I feel so empty looking at how vast and plain and white everything is…"

"I'm there, and I'm all alone…and…I guess you could say that I'm lost…there's a canyon, and I walk through it and get trapped in ice and it kills me."

"So…you're afraid of dying?" Dark asked, watching the blonde with curious eyes.

He shook his head. "Dying…there are worse things then dying. I'm not afraid of it…I'm afraid of…" his voice lowered to an almost inaudible whisper, "dying alone...without a purpose for having lived..."

"Why?"

Krad looked up. He honestly hadn't expected the pirate to hear him, but it was apparent that he had. Shaking his head, he took a deep breath, searching his mind for words to explain himself.

"I never had anyone to look after when I was young…and no one cared about me, so as soon as I could, I left. I went to the docks, sailed for a bit, became captain for my Lord, and met Satoshi a very long time ago. He was the first person I ever had that I could say cared about me, even if he wouldn't ever say it…And he was like a younger brother to me…now he's gone…I'm all alone again…and…"

"And you're worried that you won't be able to see him ever again? That you'll die without anyone with you?"

Krad nodded and, realizing the stupidity of his words, buried himself under the blankets that lay atop him, waiting for the pirate to suddenly burst out in laughter, mocking him.

But…that laughter never came. All was silent until Dark finally said, as he watched the blonde, "I see. You aren't…. afraid of dying, but you _are _afraid of being alone?"

The blonde's shoulders sank, and he nodded from below the veiling cloth. "I am."

Dark nodded, and smiled slightly, "See? I don't think that's funny or anything. You can come out from under those any time now, you know."

Krad pulled the covers off, leaving his hair in a mess as he looked at Dark with empty eyes.

Inwardly, Dark winced. Those eyes…held nothing but pain, he realized. Pain and loss and suffering…

Dark swallowed deeply, averting his gaze from the other, and said, after clearing his throat, "You should rest now. You need to regain your strength."

Krad nodded slowly, closing his eyes slightly as he said, "…Thank you…"

The purple haired man stood up, and gave Krad a curious glance. "For what?"

"For listening…when no one else would…"

Dark smiled, "Thanks for letting me. You're welcome, too…"

He walked over to the door and opened it, the rusty hinges creaking. He had nearly stepped through the door when he paused in his stride, and turned to face the blonde one last time. "One more thing," he said, still donning a smile as he spoke, "I won't let you die alone."

He turned then, leaving an utterly confused blonde in his wake as he closed the door behind him.

Krad's mind raced, and he stared in wonder at the closed door, shifting his position on the bed slightly.

Was Dark Mousy…really that bad of a man?

--

"Daisuke, eat your food, honey. I don't want you getting sick again," Emiko chided, waving an hand-carved fork at her son.

"All right, mom…" the boy said, taking a bite of his food in the near empty room.

The other crewmembers had eaten earlier; leaving Daisuke and his mother to their meal as they set down to dine, now.

"That's good. So…. what did you do today? I saw you with Krad, did anything happen?"

Daisuke nodded and poked the food that sat before him sullenly. "I showed him around the ship, and then he said thanks and kinda left…that's it."

"Oh?" Emiko said, downing a small glass of fresh water as she looked at her son. "Why so down?"

Daisuke shrugged. "I don't know…I feel a little bad for him, I guess."

"Why?"

"Because…because he doesn't know anybody here…and it seems like he doesn't want any friends…" Daisuke said, shrugging.

"I see. Daisuke…Dai, let me tell you something," his mother said, giving him a thoughtful glance.

She waited for Daisuke to acknowledge her words before continuing, "I don't think that he necessarily doesn't want any friends…but he doesn't want to ask for any. I know that sounds like a weird thing to say, but do you understand?"

The redhead shook his head. "…No."

"I don't think he's the type of person to be very social—I get the impression that he doesn't trust people very easily. That means…that he wouldn't want many friends if he didn't think he could trust them."

Daisuke nodded a little before taking another bite of his meal. Upon swallowing it, he said, "Why do you think that, mom?"

"Ahh…because…" she sighed, and ran a calloused hand through her hair. "Woman's intuition. As a mother, I can tell certain things, and from what I've seen...well, he's probably just distrustful of people—it just happens like that."

"Oh…" was all the boy said, at first. "But…if he had someone that he knew he could trust…do you think that he would let them be his friend?"

"Dai, I don't know. All I did was talk to him for a few minutes, so I really just don't know. If you talked to someone who was around him more… just ask Dark when you get around to it, alright?"

A voice came from the doorway of the kitchen interrupting the two, "Ask me what?"

"Oh, Dark! There you are!" Emiko said, happily. "We couldn't find you for dinner—where were you?"

"With Krad. He needed to talk, is all." He said, shrugging.

"About what?" Daisuke asked then, swallowing another morsel of food.

"Nothing much. Hey, Emiko—would you make me a plate?" he called as he walked into the room.

She nodded, grabbing a bit of bread and some dried meat, dropping them on the plate next to her. "Will you be dining with us, captain?" she said, sending him a stern glare that informed him he would indeed be eating his meal with them.

"Yeah…sure."

Dark sat down on the opposite side of the square-shaped table—in front of Emiko and next to Daisuke.

"So, ask me about what, again?" he asked, lazily picking up the dried meat and taking a bite out of it.

"Ah, nothing. It wasn't really anything—don't worry about it," Emiko said as she hastily picked up her plate and set it in a water basin, and began to scrub off dishes littering the counter nearby.

Dark shrugged. "If you say so. Hey kid, are you done eating? You've just been poking at it ever since I got here," Dark said as he raised an eyebrow at the smaller boy to his right.

"I'm just not hungry, I guess," Daisuke said as he stood up and walked over to his mother, setting his plate down on the dry counter. "Goodnight."

"Going to bed, Dai? Sleep well!" Emiko called after her son as he walked towards his room.

"'Night, kid!" Dark called, and Daisuke waved a hand slowly in acknowledgement.

"So…what's he all worked up about?" Dark said when the boy was out of earshot.

"He's a little worried about Krad…he thinks he's lonely."

Dark nodded, swallowing another bite. "He is."

Emiko paused in rinsing the crockery, and cocked her head slightly to the side, "And just how do you know?"

Dark shrugged, and looked up at her. "Because he told me so."

Turning half around to face her captain, she raised an eyebrow, as if asking for further explanation. The younger of the two shrugged again, and said, "He had a nightmare, I told him to tell me about it, he did. He doesn't want to be alone—and dying with no one caring is his worst fear."

"Oh…" was all Emiko said.

Dark stood up, and set his plate down next to the pile of dirty dishes, and said to the brown-haired woman, "I'm going to bed now…you should, too. I know you've had a worse day then I have."

She shook her head gently, "No—I want to finish doing these. But, then I'll head off. Goodnight, Dark."

"'Night."

--

Dark stepped out onto the deck, and looked across the dark waters as the cascading moonlight reflected off the ever shifting surface. A slight breeze ran gently through his hair, tousling it further.

He sighed, turning his gaze up to the stars and watching as small patches of clouds veiled some from sight, and released others from their shielding.

He stood that way for several moments before a yawn broke him from his gaze and he turned to head off to his chambers. On his way, he passed Krad's room, and cracked the door open a bit.

Moonlight cascaded through a small window, and seemed to fall directly onto the face of Dark's guest, and he stared at the sight for a long moment—only when a group of clouds had concealed the ethereal light and dispelled the heavenly image did Dark smile and close the door gently behind him before retreating to his room.

--

_Hmm…yes, I know I took a rather long time at updating, and I'm really sorry about that. This chapter doesn't even seem to be very good, but I can't do much about that now, can I? I figured you would all rather have a somewhat shoddy chapter now then have to wait longer for a better one. Ah…still, though, if you've found any major mistakes or would like to deliver some constructive (Or not so constructive, if you like) criticism I would be more then willing to listen. Thank you very much for reading this, and many thanks to all of my reviewers._

_EDIT: I don't know how long it's been since I last read this chapter, but, MY GOD. I don't know how you people put up with it. This chapter is SO sappy...And not even well written. Eep..._

_--_

_**theangeldark wrote:**_

_**Oh. It's so interesting! You MUST continue!**_

Ah, I'm glad you think this is interesting! I will continue, and I do apologize for the delay…I feel really bad about giving you such a bad chapter and taking so long to do it…

_**Misteline wrote:**_

_**Nah. I liked this chapter. The way you made Krad and Dark interact seemed authentic. xD Update soon.**_

_Ah, well if you liked it, I suppose that's a good thing. I'm glad it seems authentic, and I'm so very sorry that it took so long to update!_

_**Koway Oceshia wrote:**_

_**wow. that was a great chapter! and you left of o a cliffy! poor krad...dreaming about him dying alone. that's so sad. why would he dream about something like that? poor poor guy...I love this flic, as said afore, and I love dark/krad flics so much! keep up the good work and update when you can!**_

_I'm glad you liked that chapter…and I'm so very sorry about leaving a cliff hanger and then not updating for so very long. I suppose that in due time everything will be revealed, and I'm sure I can find a way to make everyone happy with more Dark/Krad scenes. Thank you!  
_

_**Animegoil wrote:**_

_**Dai/Sato Dai/Sato excited waiting Very cool scene, Dark wiping the blood off Krad's lip squeal Lovely. The dream was intersting, I'm curious to see where that was going. Lol, I write quicky too, so I always end up with tons of mistakes, and I don't bother re-reading before posting guilty But yeah. Quick update glad Let's see how the plot/drama thickens.**_

_Ah, I'm glad you liked that scene! I had a rather fun time writing it, too. I'm glad to hear that I'm not the only one who types quickly and doesn't re-read their stories…that's why I always ask that if anyone reading this found any mistakes to inform me of them so that I can go back and correct them. _

_**negolataknofelet wrote:**_

_**great story, I love it. please update soon**_

_I'm glad you think this is a great story, and I'm so very sorry it took so long to update! Please forgive me!  
_

_**imafrEEkinhobbit wrote:**_

_**i still heart you! i think it's fine, ratehr random ending, but it works. hands several more batches of cookies yea, i always give people cookies... they taste like love!**_

_Ah, my apologies for the random ending. This chapter seems to have a relatively odd ending, and I'm not too satisfied with how it came out, overall, but I didn't want to keep you guys waiting for TOO much longer. Thank you for the cookies! I've never really eaten love, so I can't compare—but I'm sure they're MUCH better!  
_

_**Cheyenne wrote:**_

_**-pokes 3rd chapter- coolnessness... "Well done! We could have done better if we'd done it ourselves and believe me we wanted to!" e sry watching saiyuki f the 50th time...ok bye nice story write more XD**_

_I'm glad you like the story…and…that you want me to write more…but I'm curious…why are you quoting Saiyuki? Ah, oh well—it's a great series in all, and thank you for reviewing!_

_**theangeldark wrote:**_

_**Oh! I love it. I want to know who called his name tho.XD Tat's buging me...PLEASE! Please update!XD**_

_I'm so very sorry it took so long for me to update—I didn't mean to bug you with you not knowing! I hope this makes up for it a little, at least…and I hope that you can enjoy this story and will continue to read it. Thank you for reviewing!_

_**neko-nya wrote:**_

_**Nya**_

_**Kyaa X3 me likes alot i would've reviewed yesterday, but we had guests . ;; poor Krad, suffering from nightmares now is he? nu school tomorrow TTTT hope you update soon **_

_I'm glad you like it, and I don't mind if you didn't review then, but thank you! I always love to annoy Krad and make him suffer, as sadistic as it is, I just can't help myself! I'm sorry about the horribly long delay in an update, and I hope that you can please forgive me!  
_

_**Daaku Hisaki wrote:**_

_**How the hell can you call this bad! Okay, it was short, I'll give you that, but it makes me want you to update more! So update! Soon! I'll be waiting!**_

_Ah…sorry about that…I wasn't totally satisfied with how it turned out, but if you enjoy it, I'll keep updating more. I'm very sorry about the delay, and I apologize for making you wait so long. I hope you can forgive me, and thank you for reviewing!  
_

_**0.o K-chan wrote:**_

_**Yay! Another chapter! Whoo! Yay!Wheet-woo, Kuro-sama you're awesome!**_

_**K-chan**_

_Ah, you seem really enthused about my updating, so I hope that you can forgive me for the long delay for the fourth chapter…Thank you for reviewing, and I hope that (even though I'm not really satisfied with this chapter…) that you enjoyed it!  
_

_**Zy-chan wrote:**_

_**YAY! You updated! Please continue! (and no, i won't send my cookies of doom on **_

_**you) Oh! great ficcy so far!**_

_Ah, it's good to hear that I won't have to worry about cookies attacking me. I'm glad you like this story so far, and I hope that you will continue to read it! Thank you for reviewing!_

_**DaredevilX wrote:**_

_**Krad doesn't seem to be able to have good dreams does he? I wonder if this is something that'll happen in the future...can't wait to read the next chapter!**_

_No, I don't think Krad has very many good dreams…but you seem to have a very wonderful sense of seeing through my words. I think a bit of foreshadowing might be nice, but you never know—it might just be a random bad dream. I'd love to tell you if it's going to happen…but I guess you'll just have to wait and find out when…I mean…well, I'm sure you get the picture._

_**Rinoki Rio wrote:**_

_**woo! Another chapter!Krad awakens!I like Dark's personality, it's so bubbly and happy!carefree -That was one wierd bit with Krad! Was it a dream? A crazy dream? that was terribly sad? it was T.TI wan't more more more!**_

_**Bye-cha! -**_

_Ah, yes, another chapter. And here is another one…although I'm not too terribly fond of how this one came out…I'm glad you like Dark's personality, and yes, it was a nightmare that Krad was having. It was a terribly crazy, sad dream, but I'm sure it means something to the story. Oh well, I hope that you can enjoy this chapter, and thank you for reviewing!_

_**Vera wrote:**_

_**What on earth has possessed Krad to take the most untrustworthy man as his second-in-comand? I hate Kei Hiwatari. I will always resent him, and I completely agree with Dark, Kei is ugly.**_

_**--**_

_**If you call this piece of art bad, what will you call my attempts at writing? Believe me, your writing is better than over 90 of fanfiction writers. Have you seen some of the drabbles around? I know, not all drabbles are bad, some are actually quite marvelous but others are not at all near your level of writing. I've also seen some of the reviews you leave for other stories and I'm impressed with your slightly formal vocabulary even in something as small as a review.**_

_Ah, it would appear that he was the only suitibale man to take the role of second-in-command, and Krad couldn't let Satoshi have that role until he was older and felt that the boy was ready to handle such responsibilities. Ah…Kei is a horrible, evil, ugly man. I really just don't like him._

_Ah, I apologize for that, then. What I meant to say about that chapter was that I wasn't quite fond at how everything turned out, in the end. I'm glad you think that my writing skills are so high—thank you! And…I like to leave very detailed reviews—I think that the more you can tell the author about his or her story, the more input they receive when writing. Thank you for such a marvelous review, and I hope that you can forgive me for such a long delay._

_**Krystean Ray wrote:**_

_**PLease make them meet soon! Dai and Sat have to meet in this next chapter or i'm gonna die!**_

_Don't worry, Dai and Sato will meet eventually…I just have to give it some time…I'm really sorry about not being able to do that…but would I be able to make a little up to you if I told you I was going to put Satoshi in the next chapter? I hope so…I feel like I've been neglecting him…_

_**xpeachiex wrote:**_

_**What I really like is how great you can use dialogue. Whenever I do dialogue, it's very dull and flat. Yours has a way of captivating the reader so that they can actually hear those voices. I say again, great job. I did notice one thing. A lot of nodding going on and shaking of the head. Now, sometimes to emphasize that a character has a certain habit, the writer repeatedly shows this action. I don't think Krad has a habit in nodding, or shaking his head, so try to cut off on those head actions, alright? I love your writing technique, and hey if you don't have anything nice to say don't say it at all right? That doesn't go for criticism though, sadly. But it's constructive criticism. Keep up the good work. Oh right, I do have one question. Do you like to write stories other than fan fictions? I would hope so with your talent. peachie**_

_Ah, I love dialogue—I'm glad to hear that I do a relatively decent job at writing it. I'm glad you were able to notice that—and I realize that I do have a lot of nodding and shaking of the head. In the end, I wanted to make it seem as though Krad was very uncomfortable with speaking to these people, so he used only the most basic form of communication with them. I know that doesn't really count as an excuse (and it really shouldn't) but I'll make sure to keep repetitive habits like that out of my stories in the future. I'm glad you like my writing technique, too—and I also enjoy that you have so much to say—it really does help me to read your reviews. And, to answer your question, I do indeed write other stories, I just really enjoy the characters from D N Angel, and so I therefore enjoy to write fan fictions with them._

_**sakurafairy wrote:**_

_**I don't really care that you updated late as long as you updated at all! Not much to say about this chapter... I can't wait to find out what's gonna happen next with Krad on the ship and maybe do a little exploring around... So what's happening in the other ship? Is Satoshi doing alright? Is Kei tormenting people? Update as soon as you can! I can wait!**_

_Ah, there wasn't much exploring in this chapter, but there will be a lot of important scenes in the next few chapters, and then I'll be able to 'start the story' –meaning, reveal the plot to you. In the next chapter, I'll make sure to include Satoshi in it, as I have promised several reviewers, and I hope that you can again forgive me for such a horribly long time it took me to update._

_**Katana-chan wrote:**_

_**What an utterly awesome story! I love pirates so much... You've done a great job wroting this, and I can't wait untill the next chapter! ... now I have to finish the homework I was supposed to be doing while I was reading this... , Oh well, it was well worth it! XD**_

_I'm glad you are enjoying this story so far! I really appreciate everything that you have said, and thank you for reading this over doing your homework! It's always nice to hear that people like your stories more then doing homework, if you know what I mean. I thank you for reviewing, and hope that you might like this chapter more then I do._

_**genkai1314 wrote:**_

_**So thats what you ment about the ice dream. It all makes sense now! .**_

_Yes….that's what I meant about the ice dream. I'm glad it all makes sense now—I would hate for you to be confused, because then I would feel bad…Bleh…well, I hope that you are enjoying this story, and thank you so very much for reviewing._


	5. V

Dark awoke early the next morning, the normally late sleeper roused by the intense rocking of the ship he resided on.

"The hell…?" He muttered, throwing himself out of bed and stretching a clean shirt over his head, followed by a long coat and then of course, his weapons of choice.

Pulling open the door, he stalked down the long hallway, his boots heavily clanking against the wooden floor.

Finally reaching the stairs that led above deck, he stepped up them two at a time and groaned when he opened the door.

There were dark clouds of thick, pasty black and gray foaming in the sky, and a rough downpour of rain was falling steadily.

Looking around for a moment, he spotted Daisuke's vibrant red hair and ran over to the youth, "Daisuke! Why didn't you wake me up if there was a storm?"

The boy grit his teeth and looked up at Dark. "I _tried_. You just wouldn't wake up, so I gave up."

"Oh…sorry about that. How long has this been going on?" Dark asked, scratching the back of his neck as he looked about.

"It started a little earlier," Came a voice from behind him, and Dark turned to see Krad, "just before dawn."

"Oh, damn. You were up here working and they didn't even wake up?" Dark asked, looking at the blonde who was walking past him with a large abundance of rope coiled in his arms.

"Emiko told me to fasten things down if I could, and so I am," Krad said, pausing, and then turned to face Dark, "should I not be doing that?"

"No, no! Go right ahead—I mean, someone has to do it, but with your wound I didn't think that you'd…be able to do so many things…"

"I'm not as weak as you must take me for, Mousy," Krad said as thunder crackled in the distance.

"I never said you were weak," Dark returned, smiling strangely, " I said I didn't know it was healthy to be working in these conditions. Especially after you were so sick last night."

"I really do hope your not mocking me," the blonde returned as a smirk drifted across his features.

"Mock you? Now why would I do that? Come on, we'll finish this later. During lunch or dinner of something. Assuming you'll dine with me, of course?"

Quietly, Krad returned, "And what would make you think I'd do that?"

His words had almost been lost in the storm, but Dark had managed to make out the faint murmur and said, "Because if you're my guest and I insist. And I'm the captain—anything I say goes, got it?"

"Well then I guess I don't have much of a choice," the blonde said, turning to walk away.

"Of course you do, like for example, I could ask you what you wanted to eat—then you could choose that," Dark said, running after the blonde.

"I don't particularly care at the moment, all things considered," Krad said as he raised a brow and looked at Dark.

"What are you talking about?" dark said, looking around for a second before it suddenly hit him, "Oh, you mean I should be doing something to prepare for when the storm hits?"

Krad rolled his eyes, "No, I was saying that maybe you should just throw yourself off the ship just to make things easier."

"Now that was cruel…"

"Yes. Yes it was," Krad said bitterly, turning away as he began to fasten ropes to various things on deck and secure them down.

Dark watched for only a moment, and then turned back to find Daisuke behind him, smiling lightly.

"Yo…what are you so happy about? Aren't you worried that I'm going to get us all killed, too?"

"No, not really," Daisuke said, still smiling.

"Okay…well still, what're you smiling for?"

"Nothing," Daisuke said as he ran off to find his mother.

Dark smiled, watching him run and shrugged, "Weird kid…"

--

Satoshi watched from the side docks as a fiecre wind kicked up, and ran through his icy blue hair.

In the distance, thunder was rolling, and there was already a light mist of rain on the horizon.

He sighed and stood up, brushing himself off as he turned and came face to face with Kei Hiwatari. He did not acknowledge his presence, but instead walked right past him, hoping to avoid exchanging words.

"You should stop lying to yourself," the older man said after a moment, when Satoshi was almost out of earshot.

Still, the blue haired boy turned to look at Kei and said, "What are you talking about?"

"He isn't going to come back. He's dead—and you'll never see him again. Not even his rotting corpse," the man replied, a twisted grin on his features.

Satoshi's eyes narrowed, "Whatever."

--

Water pounded down on the ship, and Dark was feeling the effects heavily now. His movements were slow and tiring, his clothes completely soaked through.

Shouting to someone to take caution around the railing for fear that the ever-growing waves would hurl them into the sea.

He cursed when a sudden wave crashed onto the deck, sending the whole ship rocking psychotically.

"Dark!"

The pirate captain turned to see an exasperated woman come running towards him, and Emiko said quickly, "Where's Dai? Have you seen him?"

"I—not since earlier—why?"

"Because I can't find him!" Emiko said, turning to look behind her on the deck for any sign of her son.

"Wait—Emiko, I'm sure he's okay, just…just wait a minute, we'll find him. Maybe one of the crewmembers have seen him?"

"I already asked _everyone_!"

"Even Krad?" Dark asked, and Emiko turned to face him, "I haven't _seen_ Krad today except for when he asked what he could do to help."

"But…then where is he?" Dark asked, looking around for any sign of either the blonde or the redhead.

Another wave crashed over the deck, sending more men sprawling onto the cold floor. "Dark…" Emiko said after a long moment, "You don't think that they…"

In the distance, someone called, "Man overboard!"

--

Interesting? Maybe. I hope you all can forgive me for my lack of updates on this story, but I've been busy with…that other one. I can't even remember the name of it—isn't that sad? Ah, well…I do hope that you are enjoying this, and will wait for another chapter (there should be one up again this weekend, if I can manage it…)

_**genkai1314 wrote:**_

_**I am really mad at you. For one thing, You left me all alone today! and, the chapter ended...that made me sad...I'ma gonna go cry now...poor Tylenol...;-; **_

_**Good story cha! nn **_

_**Love you lots! **_

_**Gen-chan**_

_Ah, I'm sorry to have left you all alone…I do believe my ankle was killing me, though…sorry that the chapter ended, as well…but you knew it had to, sometime. Poor Tylendel, indeed…_

_**Vera wrote:**_

_**Oh, dear... I feel bad for Krad now... This chapter is really good. I really like the interaction with Krad and Dark, showing that Krad is finally stating to trust Dark. It is not at all shoddy like you say. There is just one thing that I suggest that you add to the story to make it a bit more detailed and to make Daisuke's and Emiko's conversation easier to understand and to connect to the story, and that is to actually write out the tour that Daisuke took Krad to and to write down Krad's reactions that made Daisuke believe that he is lonely. If you disagree with that and think that it is better for the story to leave the tour out then that is your decision.**_

_I'm glad that you liked that chapter! I will make my story more detailed, as you insist, and I apologize for the lack of substance Dai and Emiko's conversation had. Don't worry, you will find out about the tour, I just chose to keep that a secret (I'm lying…I was too tired to write it out that night, and it just doesn't fit in this chapter…) for just a little while longer. Still, thank you for reviewing!_

_**imafrEEkinhobbit wrote:**_

_**aw! for some reason i find the ending sweet. :hands MORE cookies: will there be lovey-fluffy-ness? i heart lovey-fluffy-ness. :stupid grin:**_

_Ah, you find it sweet? That's nice to hear! Thank you for the cookies, (and for reviewing) and there **will** be more 'lovey-fluffy-ness' in the near future—honest!_

_**DaaKu Hisakiwrote:**_

**_Yay! Update! I totally enjoyed it, so do update more! I completely forgive you, just update_**!

_Okay, if you say so! Here is the next chapter, and I apologize for the long wait…again…_

_**Koway Oceshia wrote:**_

_**I love this story! and now dark promised krad that he wouldn't die alone! how cute! I can't wait to read on and I love how descriptive you are! yay! update when you can!**_

_I'm glad to hear that you love this story! And that you thought that scene was cute! I'm glad you like how descriptive I am, and I thank you for reviewing to this!_

_**Animegoil wrote:**_

_**Well, personally, I think a better chapter is prefferable to a longer wait, because no one gives a second thought to a bad story, but they'll remember a good story for months, even years, to come -really. Anyway, your description scenes are nice enough, and I'm eager to see when Satoshi comes back in. While dialogue is fairly good as well, I thought Krad was a bit too open for someone who supposedly doesn't trust ppl well. Of course, I realize that it's probably because he feels something about Dark that makes it easier to talk to, but that's complete inference based on what I know will be the pairing in the future, and not on what's said about Dark or what Krad's thoughts are said to be in the story. I loved Daisuke though, you're definitely capturing his sensitve kind side. :huggles him: Oh, and I caught another problem with then and than- then is used to show time changes, than is used for comparing peoeple, things, etc.Update soon, but make sure it's a good chapter!**_

_I agree, but I think there's just a long wait because sometimes…I'm very short on time and am doing other things. It only takes me an hour to write a chapter, give or take some time in certain cases, but I really do love it, so it doesn't bother me in the slightest. And regarding the scene where Krad opens up to Dark, it is because during their discussion, Dark says something (I can't remember exactly…) that sways Krad to believe that in the end, what harm could come from him just telling him about his dream? So, he does, and in the end everyone is happy and the story moves on to see new and better days, right? Bah, well, whatever comes out of this story, it's bound to be something interesting, I can promise you that at least. And Satoshi made an ever so brief appearance in this chapter! I wish I could have made his scene longer, but I couldn't, I'm afraid. It'll just have to wait until the next update, hmm? Thank you for reviewing!_

_**neko-nya wrote:**_

_**Nya**_

_**You're an awesome writer ow...burnt my finger on pizza...anyways congrats on updating poor Krad, he's so lonely and abused -smirks- good job! **_

_Thank you! I do so love torturing Krad as I do—I just can't wait until I put up my…**other**…story. Oh, yes, I don't know if I do anything **but** torture him in that…I'm so cruel!_

_**Cheyenne wrote:**_

_**I quoted Saiyuki because I was watching it at the moment...and yes awesome chapter! I'm more of an action/drama person not just all talk. But when/if ya get to the hardcore fluff(lol) then i'll enjoy the plain talk more XD well i still admire your work so, ya no abandonning stuffs!**_

_I wouldn't **dream** of abandoning my children like that! And…yes, I call them my children because they were spawned of me. The wretched things that they are—how I love them all! Thank you for the compliments and praise, and for reviewing, as well._

_**Zy-chan wrote:**_

_**Yay! You updated again! hands you some ice cream and cookies Well, I hope you get to update soon!**_

_Ah yes, thank you very much! I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and will continue to rad this story in the future, okay? Thank you!_

_**sakurafairy wrote:**_

_**yay! u updated! u updated! u updated! & i can go on 4evr if i wanted 2. cant wait 2 figure out wat's gonna happen 2 Satoshi and the others! Update update as SOON as you have time to! Sayonara!**_

All right, I've updated now, okay? It'll be interesting in future chapters, I have a long list of ideas plotted out, but I'm afraid I may have to drop the 'realistic' side this story has for a somewhat mystical sense. You know, magic artifact makes the user all mighty and power full type of thing. Oh well, Satoshi popped in for a short while, and he's bound to do it again soon, right? And then eventually him and Dai will meet and all that fun stuff. Thank you for reviewing!

_**Red wrote:**_

_**This could easily be a bestselling book if the characters were your own creations. Kudos on the exelant fic!**_

_Really, you think so? I might have to do that sometime…right out my own novel based on this fan fiction I've written…that sounds really interesting…well, in any case, thank you very much!_

_**Dodo-chan wrote:**_

_**heh! loved this chappy, so sweet! do u, by any chance, know Magics Promise by mercedes lackey? Its my favorite book! But this fic is just as good, and I must say your really good at updating quickly, some of the fics I read take, literally, years to be updated. So keep up the great work, I cant wait for the next chapter sayonara!**_

_I love to update quickly, then people don't have to wait forever and then get tired of the story they were reading because they forgot about it and…I'm just rambling right now, you know. And, yes, I have read Magic's Promise—that's what inspired the whole meaning of the dream Krad has. I'm glad you think this story is good, it's really nice to hear that! I try to update my stories quite frequently, but I've been short on time with this particular one…so…thank you for reviewing!_

_**Krith wrote:**_

_**This is a really good story you are writing. It feels like reading a book, I don't care if sounds strange, but it really does.This chapter was also really... fine, nice, good... I can't get the word...Anyway, better late update than never!**_

_**-Krith**_

Ah, thank you so very much! I'm glad it feels like your reading a book, I think that's a god thing if you think that! I apologize for the late update, but hope that you will still continue to read this. Thank you for your review!

_**white wrote:**_

_**oO**_

_**UPDATED**_

_**I do a happy dance**_

_**happy dance**_

_Ah, I'm glad to see that you like this story! Thank you for reviewing, it's nice to know that there are people out there who like my stories like you do!_

_**xpeachiex wrote:**_

_**I've gone and been evil and got sleepy while reading your lovely chapter. So, I'm sorry if I couldn't really notice much of anything, and put good criticism in. Did you happen to notice that you have a new reviewer in your other stories? Me! Haha, that's great. Okay, there's that little bit about me. I did like this chapter. Why? Great dialogue. Again. Keep up the fantastic work on that half. I did keep running over the question: is there enough description? A pinch more would be good (The last scene in the last chapter was plenty enough, and very good.) One, you've got just about the perfect amount right now. To much details can bore the reader, and to little can have the reader uninterested, or confused. I tend to hate long descriptions, but go and put boring descriptions in my stories anyway (There I go about me again…it's horrible.) Two, I think you do need a bit more details, because to much dialogue can be a bad thing. So, my points for today would be: 1: Add just a pinch more of details. You want to use details in scenes when you have a new setting, object, or person. And you want to use nice diction and imagery that fits all of it. But, you always have to get the perfect effect. To many adjectives drown a sentence. To little choke it. Lovely, two ways a sentence can die. 2: Dialogue? Keep up the good work. It's not to much, but remember this…I don't have the story right in front of me, so I don't know if you do or not, but don't use senseless sentences, i.e. Hello, Good morning, Are you alright?. Always, always, always put information (even the smallest bits) into your dialogue. Where the characters are, what time of day it is, and what the weather looks like ("Sarah, we'd better get going soon, the sky is getting dark," she said. Bleh, you get the deal), what's going on, etc. Okay, I just looked over it, and no, all your dialogue is purposeful and not useless. 3: Add suspense! Sure, we still don't know what's going on with the other ship where Satoshi is (I'd like to know!) but right now, that may be the only thing completely driving the story. Well, in addition to the romance that is developing between the two captains. That's always hard, thinking of something to stuff in there that people are going to think about. And, that's it. Oh, yes, I do love the characters as well. I'm getting one of my classmates (yes, yes, I am a high school girl. I don't sound like one) hooked onto DNAngel. She's reading it in class. Tsk Tsk. Ah, I'd like to know what other types of stories you write, but look at all this dreadful space I'm taking up! Oh, and don't go through the trouble of copying this whole thing and then replying to it. I do enjoy reading what you have to say, about what I have to say (haha) but I am going to end up taking a lot of space, because I love criticism. Go ahead and **_

_**just put 'peachie' and then write a reply, if you even want to. Thanks for reading my review, keep up the great work on the chapters (Sorry for the length of this review!) --peachie P.S. One of these days I'm going to finally log in.**_

_I guess I didn't listen to you and put your review in full up, didn't I? Well, it's nice to read it—if anyone else reads it then maybe they'll learn something they didn't know. And…thank you so very much! Every time you review I learn something new, and it really helps me when writing. I've even started looking to make sure that I don't do things you've told me not to do when writing, and it's really nice, I think. I knew I needed to write more details when I posted the last chapter, I just didn't want to go back in and write them since I didn't the first time…_

Still, I'm glad you like this story. I've gotten…let's see…about seven people hooked on D N Angel in the past year, so I'm not going to say anything. I'm in high school, too, but everyone thinks I'm in seventh grade because I don't look very old…not that it matters much, but again, thank you for your wonderful review, and I look foreword to seeing what else you can help me with. Oh, and by the way, I apologize for my usage of then and than…I've realized that sometimes I forget which one goes where and just randomly pick one…I should stop doing that, hmm?

_**theangeldark wrote:**_

_**Ah! So great! I never thought of aloneness. Why was it killing him though?**_

It was killing him because he had no one to talk to, and if someone is completely ignored, it might signal depression…and if he had gotten depression there was always the chance of a suicide attempt, or maybe it was just killing his emotions—does that work for you? Whichever you prefer, I'm not exactly sure myself. Still though, thank you for reviewing!

_**you-go-on-my-cookie wrote:**_

_**Do you know the author Mercedes Lackey if yes then did you read Magic's Pawn (The Last Herald Mage Triology in general). I love that book and I think it is a sweet idea to put it in the story to show Krad's Lonliness.**_

_Ah, I do know of that series. It's wonderful to see that three of my reviewers have read that marvelous series, and thank you for your compliments and your review. I do hope that you will continue to read this story, and I hope you can forgive me if I am delayed in updating swiftly._

_**cyntrayanas wrote:**_

_**i like alot even more then the other one this one is really good Chelsea i love it and yet again you killed Krad how could you oh well your insane so it doesn't matter love it and you**_

_Well, thank you! I'm so evil and sadistic…Raistlin really rubbed off on me, hmm? Ah well, thank you for reviewing!_

_**kittenoftime wrote:**_

_**aw! thanks so much for the story It's AWESOME, please, update when you get a chance.**_

_All right, here is your update! And thank you for the review, I'm so glad to hear that you are enjoying this!_


	6. VI

The storm continued to rage, and Krad leaned wearily against a pole as he tried to catch his breath. He was panting heavily already, and braced himself as another wave rolled off the ship.

He watched various figures scurry across the vessel, some sliding on the thick white foam that was layering itself wherever it could.

Drawing in a long breath, he pulled himself away from the long, thick wooden pole and cocked his head to the side as a sudden burst of red appeared in his vision.

Daisuke, who had been helping an injured man downstairs to his cabin, fell violently to the deck as a brutal quake struck the ship. The small redhead stood up shakily, clutching his head as he winced, and then his eyes widened as he stared into the distance.

A wave easily the size of half the mast came crashing down on the ship, and the confused boy had no time to react—he was washed overboard upon impact.

"_Shit_," Krad cursed, running across the deck and looking for a small speck of red in the water.

It took a moment, but Daisuke emerged from under the foamy water, coughing and sputtering as the current began to pull him away.

Without giving it a second though, Krad leapt atop the rail and dove into the dark water. Almost instantly, his shoulder was burning in pain; the salt biting at the wound as he fought to swim towards the redhead and stay above water.

"Daisuke!" He called, hoping the boy would swim towards him. Unfortunately, he did not—the boy floated just barely above the water, unconscious.

Cursing again to himself as he continued swimming, weighted down by his hair and clothes, Krad painstakingly made his way over to Daisuke. Finally, when he did, he gripped the small boy with the weaker of his arms, his injured one, and began to swim back to the boat.

Rain poured down more now, and the outline of the Black Wings became just ever more visible as Krad struggled to just make it back.

Time passed quicker when the blonde concentrated on the pain radiating from his shoulder rather than the distance he still had left, and he looked up after what seemed to only be a moment and found that the ship was not but about fifty yards away—a distance he could swim in a matter of seconds.

And, that's what he did. By the time someone had called "man overboard", he had already reached the bottom of the ship, his hand resting lightly on some tangled netting. Giving a sharp tug, he learned that it was tightly wedged and caught in the ship, and even in his weakened state began to pull both himself and Daisuke up.

Dark turned to the man who had called, Emiko right behind him, and shouted, "Where?"

The man looked in the water, his eyes scanning the murky surface, "He was…I could have sworn…I must have been seeing things," he said, after noting that the figure seemed to have disappeared.

Krad, pulling himself and Daisuke up with one arm by the grit his teeth from the strain, and looked up. Rainwater trickled down in a steady flow but he knew he was a good number of feet in the air before he called, "_Dark!_"

Dark, hearing his name, looked behind him to see if it had been any of his crew. No one was looking at him, so he turned back to Emiko, "Did you hear someone call my name?"

She shook her head, biting her lip worriedly.

"Oh…" Dark said, then looked over the ships edge, "Krad! Dai!" He called, and the blonde looked up, replying, "I can't hold on for much longer…if you could help a little?"

Nodding quickly, Dark looked around and bent over the rail, giving the netting Krad clung to a sharp tug upwards, as he pulled him up.

Surprisingly, the whole thing was much lighter than Dark had expected, and in not but a moment Krad and Daisuke were sprawled on the floor, the blonde panting heavily and gripping his shoulder.

Emiko ran to her son, shaking him lightly, "Dai? Daisuke? Wake up, honey…"

Dark, who fell to the floor next to Krad looked down at him, "Are you okay?"

Krad nodded, saying nothing.

"Shit…you weren't kidding when you said you were stronger than you looked…"

"I...didn't say that. I said I wasn't as weak as I looked…." He said, panting in-between words.

"Well ya coulda fooled me," Dark said as he pulled the soaking blonde to his feet and forced him to lean on him. "Yo, Emiko," he called, "Is Dai going to be all right?"

Emiko nodded roughly, clutching her son to her as he struggled to get away, "Daisuke, you scared me!"

"I'm sorry," he murmured, still trying to get in a position where he could breathe, "I don't know what happened…"

"It's okay…I was just worried," Emiko said, pulling away and looking at him. "I want you to go to your room and get changed, okay? And stay there and go to bed, you look worn out…"

Daisuke and his mother both stood, and the red head shakily made his way downstairs and to his room. Emiko, on the other hand, turned to the two captains and ran to Krad, hugging him tightly, "Thank you _so_ much…"

"I…Uhm…" Krad said, tossing Dark a hesitant look. Dark smiled lightly, and Krad said, "I…didn't really do anything…"

"Yes you did…if you hadn't done what you did…Daisuke wouldn't be here right now…" she said, tears falling from her eyes steadily.

"I…it was the least I could do for you, then…" he said, recalling that she had been the one to save _his_ life.

"Come on," Dark said to Emiko, "He's worn out right now. I'm going to take him to his room and we can all talk later. Can you handle the ship for a few moments?"

The brown haired woman nodded, and released Krad, "Thank you," she murmured as Dark pulled the blonde towards the stairs.

"I can walk, you know…" Krad said, slightly uncomfortable at how close Dark was to him.

"I'm sure you can, but I don't want to take the chance that you can't right now. And besides," he added, "This is more fun, no?"

"Shut up…" the blonde growled, looking away.

Upon reaching the room, Dark left Krad for a moment while he returned to his own room to retrieve a fresh supply of clean, dry clothes.

When he returned to the blonde's quarters, he set them on a table and asked, "Does your shoulder hurt?"

Krad, who had been clutching it and wincing from the still ever present stinging, nodded slightly, "It does…"

"Do you want some water to wash it out with, and clean bandages?"

"If you would be so kind…I would appreciate that…"

"Hey, that's the least I can do," Dark said as he walked over to a cabinet and pulled out a thick roll of bandages, "After all, you saved Daisuke."

Dark walked out of the room before Krad had a chance to speak, and returned with a fresh basin of water and a cloth.

"Uhm…do you want me to help?" Dark asked after he set it down, scratching the back of his head.

"No, thank you, I'd rather do it myself…" the blonde replied, "If you don't mind…"

"I don't, I don't. Uhm…I'll just…leave you hear then. Emiko sent Dai to bed, so maybe you should try to go to sleep, too?"

Krad nodded wearily, "That isn't going to be much of a problem for me."

"Sure," Dark said, " I'll come back and check on you in a bit."

"You don't need to worry about me so much…I'll be fine…" the blonde said as raised an eyebrow at Dark.

"Yeah, yeah, you say that now but the moment I let my guard down is the time you'll need me to watch out for you," Dark muttered, already on his way to the door.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Krad called, even as Dark opened the door.

"It means go to bed," the violet haired man said as he closed the door behind him.

Krad sighed, and slid the wet shirt off of his lean figure, shivering lightly as cold air hit his skin. Lazily unwinding the used bandages around his torso, he eventually removed them all and cleaned his wound of the salt water. To his relief, the pain stopped after a few moments, and he was able to rewrap it himself—even if the overall result was somewhat clumsily done.

Finishing changing his clothes, Krad sank into his bed and huddled in the warmth of the blankets. The strenuous activity earlier had worn him out completely, and in not but a moment he was sound asleep.

--

_Yes, I do realize this chapter is probably the worst I've ever written, but…it was just a filler so we can move on. The next chapters should be fun, and soon the plot will be revealed! Oh…and please forgive me for how bad this is. You may not think so, but I am very disappointed with what came out of it. Do not be surprised if rewrite it when I have more time, all right?_

Koway Oceshia wrote:

hugs you updated! and we saw satoshi a bit! yay! by the man overboard, I'm guessing that daisuke fell in and krad went to get him. this and secrets held within are so cool! I love them!

update when you can!

_Well, you figured me out quite clearly…on the first guess, too, no less. I will update secrets held within now, for you, all right? I'm glad you love them, and here is a quick update to make up for my…well, lack of updating over the past few days, if you will. I hope you can forgive me!_

sakurafairy wrote:

so u finally updated this one. its nice. i cant wait til satoshi & dai meet each other. omg! did dai fall overboard or something! u hav 2 tell me! i must noe! TT.TT

_Ah, yes, I finally updated something other than 'Bordering the Walls of Sanity'. Daisuke and Satoshi will meet…but it won't be until much later, I'm afraid…still, Daisuke did fall over board. Here is a quick update so that you didn't have to wait for very long, all right?_

Zy-chan wrote:

Great chapter! Update soon! (and I'm really running out of words to say...) And I just found out that I'm the only person in my grade that likes shonen-ai, yaoi, slash, ect. (sad isn't?) Well, Ja ne!

-ZY-CHAN-

_Ah, thank you! I updated quickly, but I'm just not satisfied with this chapter, and like I said, I'll probably end up going back and re-writing this. I know I'm not the only person in my grade who likes yaoi and such…I have several good friends who are interested in the same thing. Still, I hope you can forgive me for not updating for such a long time, all right?_

neko-nya wrote:

Nya

Don't worry i'm just as cruel if not...crueler than you we'll be killed by a mob of krad-fans one day hmm i wonder who fell over board .. krad? -most likely- you updated congrats!

_All right, it's good to hear that you think that. Still, I'm a rabid Krad fan…I just have an unhealthy obsession with totally and completely torturing him…Daisuke fell overboard…and Krad jumped in after him, and all that fun stuff…well, here, I've updated again and I'm of to go to it some more…thank you, and I hope you don't think this chapter is as bad as it seems to me…_


	7. VII

The storm had long since abated and the sun was near setting by the time Dark found that his crew no longer needed him.

Tossing an irritated glance at the still gray, cloud plastered sky, Dark stalked down the stairs and headed towards the kitchen.

Pushing open the door gently, he searched for the ships cook and doctor and called out, "Hey, Emiko? You here?"

There was a bustling from the corner, and the woman popped out from behind a cabinet. "I'm here, Captain—what can I help you with?"

"Dinner. When will it be ready?" He asked, not bothering to mask the weariness in his voice.

"Actually it'll be done in a minute. Would you like to get everyone down here and ready?"

Dark shrugged. "Sure. Daisuke too?"

Emiko shook her head. "No, he was up a little while ago and got something to eat. I sent him back to bed afterwards, but he should be fine."

"And Krad?"

Emiko shook her head as she stalked over to a large cauldren of steaming broth. "I haven't seen him since this morning. He's probably still asleep."

"I see. Well in any case, I'll go get them."

Dark left slowly, meandering back up the stairs and onto the deck. Calling loudly, he stated, "Yo! Dinner's ready if you want some!"

Nearly falling down the stairs as he stepped _back_ down them _again_, Dark cursed and stalked to Krad's room. He knocked lightly, and upon receiving no answer slowly creaked open the door and stepped inside.

The blonde himself couldn't be seen, but his form was visible from underneath the heavy blankets that lie atop him.

Dark silently slipped next to the bed, and whispered, "_Krad?"_

The blonde's eyes twitched slightly, and then lazily opened. "Hmm…?"

"Dinner. Do you want any?"

Krad rolled over onto his side, so his back was facing Dark and mumbled, "No…thank you…"

"So what, you're just going to sleep all day?" The pirate captain asked in a joking tone, and was surprised when Krad sat up groggily and looked at him with dull eyes. "Should I get up?"

Dark shook his head, chuckling. "No, you don't have to. I was only teasing."

"Oh…" the blonde said, reaching and wiping sleep from his eyes. "Sorry."

Dark blinked. "For what?"

"I…actually I don't know…"

"Then why did you say it?"

"I just…I don't know. I felt like I should," the blonde said, looking away.

"Well…alright, I guess. Are you going to go back to sleep?"

Krad shook his head, "No…I've slept all day, like you said."

"You sure?"

Krad nodded and stood up, stretching. He tossed Dark a quick glance, asking, "So…since I'm not sleeping…what should I do now?"

"I dunno…maybe finish waking up…go eat dinner. Oh…hey, you were supposed to eat dinner with me tonight—are you still up to that?"

"Oh…I guess so…"

Dark smiled. "Really? Then let's go!"

Krad rolled his eyes. "Well aren't you in a good mood…"

"I guess I am…" Dark said as he paused, pondering, but brushed the thought away. "I don't want to eat with the crew—would you mind if we ate topside?"

"On the deck, you mean?"

Dark smiled, "Yeah. It stopped raining and the sun is setting. Real pretty, too."

Krad waited to speak for a moment, and then sighed. "All right. Just…let me fix my hair and I'll be out…"

"Want some help?" Dark asked, noting that the blonde may have a little trouble with his excessively_ long_ hair.

"No…it's all right."

Skillfully, Krad pulled his hair free from it's ponytail and let it cascade down his back for a short moment before gingerly reaching back and tying it up again tightly. Brushing a few bangs out of his eyes, he looked towards Dark. "See?"

"Show off. Let's just get going," Dark said, grinning as he headed out the door. There was a large commotion coming from the other end of the hallway, and turning apologetically to Krad Dark said, "I guess the crew's already down there. Do you wanna wait until they get done?"

The blonde shrugged, not really caring. "Either way, it's fine with me. I'm not very hungry either way, though."

"Well…let's go watch the sunset. I haven't been able to do it for a long time," Dark said as he began up the stairs. He cursed about the fourth step up, and Krad raised a brow. "Something wrong?"

"I _hate_ climbing up and down these things…it's a waste of time and I've had to walk up and down these more times than I care to count today."

"I see," the blonde said shortly, easily stepping up the last of the stairs. Dark reached back and grabbed his wrist before dragging him to the railing.

Krad hadn't been expecting this sudden action, and followed Dark rather clumsily until he was released.

"Sorry," the violet haired captain said, scratching the back of his head.

"It's…okay…"

An awkward silence passed over the two, and Dark decided he should be the one to break it. "So…how did you end up here again?"

"You dragged me…" Krad said dryly.

"No, not like that. Well, sorta…I mean, how did you end up a guest on my ship?"

Krad frowned deeply, a wave of irritance staining his glassy, golden eyes and said, "I was _shot_ by my first mate."

"Oh…yeah," Dark said stupidly. How could he have forgotten? "Why did he shoot you, again?"

"Because I refused to let him push me around. Because I wouldn't…" Krad sighed, and shook his head glumly. "It doesn't matter why…there were a lot of reasons. I only hope that Satoshi did like I asked him to…"

"Satoshi…you mentioned him before. When you told me about your nightmare, right?"

Krad nodded. "Yes, I believe so."

Dark was silent for a long moment, and ran a hand through his messy locks. "Hmm…"

"What is it?"

Dark shrugged. "Nothing. I just don't see how someone like you could get nightmares of something so stupid as death…"

Krad blinked, tossing Dark a curious look. "what?"

"I mean, when I first saw you, yeah, I thought you'd be real weak and stuff, and you having a nightmare didn't help…but then you saved Dai, so now I don't know _what_ type of person I should think of you as…"

Krad frowned. "Oh. You don't know whether to consider me a coward or not."

"Well…no, it's not that, but…"

"You still think that I'm weak in some part of your mind."

Dark sighed heavily, nodding. "I guess."

Krad was silent for a long moment, and then pushed away lightly from the railing. Not looking at Dark, he asked, "what brought this up?"

"I don't know…"

"well…" Krad paused before continuing, "Let me help you decide how you should see me."

He glared at the captain—his _enemy_ he reminded himself, and cursed at his stupidity. Of course! They were enemies! How could he have forgotten he was supposed to be on a mission to _kill_ this man?

Krad grit his teeth lightly and said with a sullen voice, "You should see me as an enemy. A foe. A menace. But…you won't see me as a threat. Do you know why?"

Dark was silent as the blonde continued, "Because I am weak. There were so many things I wish I could have stopped but I couldn't, because I was _weak_. I suppose in this case your assumption was correct when you saw me first…"

Dark opened his mouth to say something, but Krad interrupted him. "If you'll excuse me, I've concluded that I'm _really_ not in the mood to dine."

The blonde then turned on his heels, stalking towards the cabins. Dark's mind took a second before it clicked, and he called the blonde's name.

Krad ignored him, and Dark cursed, running after him. Noting that the blonde seemed very intent on completely disregarding him, he did the only thing he could.

He tackled Krad to the ground, hoping that the other's shoulder wouldn't be hurt in the act, and both figures fell to the ground.

Krad, who lay face down with Dark partially sprawled across him began to struggle, and Dark, who feared he would get away before he could tell him anything, reached his left hand up and grasped both of the blonde's wrists firmly together and held them immobile in his grip.

The blonde inhaled sharply, his shock still evident. "What are you—?"

"Shut up! I'm sorry, okay! I didn't mean any of that, I'm just stressed out, okay?" Dark hissed to the blonde, leaning close to his ear. "I'm sorry…"

Krad's struggling ceased momentarily, and he said, "I…Dark, please get off of me. Now."

"No—I'm not getting…Krad?"

Krad froze when he felt the back of his shirt lift up slightly, and light fingers being traced over his back. He was barely able to breath, none-the-less answer when Dark asked, "Krad…How the hell did you get these?"

Krad mentally cursed, still unable to speak.

Damn Dark…Damn his past…_Damn_ his father…

--

Haa…sorry for the really long update. I've been lazy…and was plotting too much for other stories. Please forgive me, and I promise that I'll forget about plotting until after I've updated these stories some more for you guys, all right? Thanks for reading and reviewing to those of you who do, and I want you to know that I greatly appreciate it!

_**imafrEEkinhobbit wrote:**_

_**eh, i won't be mentioned in the next chapter, but oh well...**_

_**GACK! very cliffy-ish ending! you are so mean:pelts cookies at author: oh well. i still heart you. now, off to read the next chapter!**_

_**And…**_

_**yay! i'm glad everyone's ok. and yay! more lovey-fluffy-ness:showers author with cookies:huggles author: i heart you...**_

_Yay! I really like writing cliffhangers, so that's…sorta what I did here. I hope you don't mind…and thank you for the cookies! XD I like fluff…and angst and tragic romance, but I can't seem to write humor any more…hmm…I used to be **really** good at it, too, I'm told. Hmm…I wonder what brought that up…well, in any case, thank you for your reviews, and I hope you will continue to read!_

_**Koway Oceshia wrote:**_

_**yay! you're updating secrets held within fer me! thank you! of course I forgive you! I can't be mad at a great writer! you rock! and are a great writer! cheers this chapter was amazing with all the details, all of it! short but sweet as they say! update whenever you can!**_

Ah, yes, I did! And I plan to update it again either tomorrow or Tuesday…and thank you for forgiving me! And than thank you for all the praise—I'm flattered! Here is the next update—I hope you enjoy!

_**DaaKu Hisaki wrote:**_

_**Huzzah! Two updates! D Although this one was kind of short. .. Oh well! 3 Update soon! Really, really soon!**_

_Ah, well, thank you for showing your enthusiasm, and I apologize for not updating for a while. Oh, dear, please forgive me…I promise to try to update at least one of my stories every day when I have the time, okay?_

_**xpeachiex wrote:**_

_**I-I...I have nothing to say. Only that I love it. Oh my...Krad! Daisuke! ;; No...NO! I will jump in and save them myself! Haha, incase you're wondering, this is still the criticism filled peachie, I'm just...being more hyper than usual. Well, anyway, don't worry. I'll be looking for mistakes! I'm not being harsh, just, it's my...thing. Pointing out people's mistakes so I can help them. Well, really! Thank you for...thanking me for...giving you tips. Usually I'm just told very rude profanities when I point out things. You updated! Ah. Happy. Happy. Happy. An idea that popped into my head...while I was taking a shower (Oo;) what if...Daisuke was marooned. For just a little while. Floating on a piece of wood when he bumps into Satoshi's ship and...well, you get the rest of the idea. While Krad is saved by Dark. I don't know. Just a...thought. –peachie**_

_I love having you point out my faults—I always feel so much better when I write and stop myself from doing something by saying "Oh! Peachie told me not to do that…instead I'll…" and It's just so much fun! I really must thank you for having a reviewer who would go out of her way to leave me such wonderfully detailed criticism! And I'm confused…how come everyone seems to see right through me! Daisuke WILL be marooned (sorta) and run into Satoshi, but I'm afraid that's not until **much** later. Still, thank you again, and I hope you are still enjoying this!_

_**Zy-chan wrote:**_

_**Again great chapter! (now that i thought it over, i think i'm the only personin the whole school the likes shonen-ai, ect. and knows what it is...) oh well, please update soon...**_

Oh, so sorry for the long time it took to update…I hope you forgive me. I know I've converted a lot of people into yaoi fans…aren't I just evil? Thank you for reading, reviewing, and tossing me such marvelous praise. I really appreciate it!

_**sakurafairy wrote:**_

_**Yay! krad saved dai! hes saved! hmm...wat else can i write about this chapter? -thinks- i cant think of anymore. now i must good & read ur other stories.**_

Yay! Krad's a hero! Thank you for complimenting me—it's really kind of you! I hope you are enjoying the story so far and hope you can forgive me for the delayed update(and short reply to your review)

_**0.o K-chan wrote:**_

_**Whoa...nice...Have I mentioned how much I love this fic? I mean, Dark's a frickin' pirate! That totally rocks, since a pirate is nearly the same thing as a thief. XD Rock on, man, rock frickin' on!**_

_**Oh, I love the Last Herald-Mage Trilogy. In fact, I just finished rereading Magic's Price last night, for the third or fourth time. Anyhow, on to the next chapter.**_

_**And…**_

_**Since I've been horribly bad with reviewing your fics, I'll review twice in a row! Go me!**_

_**I'd just like to say that I love this fic in all it's fluffy/angsty glory that is accompanied by Krad-torture. Krad torture good. 3**_

_**Did I see something about Raistlin in your review responses last chapter (yes, I read them)? I love Raist. Kyah! Yeah, I'm okay.**_

_**Kuro-pippi in your eye!**_

_** K-chan**_

_Oh, thank you for your wonderful review! I love fluff and angst and such just as much as torturing Krad…and if YOU like Krad angst/torture…I promise there will be much in many of my other stories, if you ever find one that interests you. And, Mercedes Lackey's books are all marvelous…she tends to be sadistic at times…and regarding Raistlin (yes, you saw that right) I was a great fanatic of dragonlance. I still probably am…just more so of D N Angel. Still, Raistlin will always have a place in my heart…well, he would if I could remember where it went…_

_**neko-nya wrote:**_

_**Nya**_

_**So in some odd way i was right sort of...never mind ;; I lobe torturing Krad too Don't worry...your chapters are awesome even when you think of them as horrible . unlike mine...anyways awesomeness XD i hate teachers right now...i think my heart just died . **_

Krad torture is fun, fun, fun. I'm going to a circus later…because my friend wants to go…sorry, that was random. But, thank you for reviewing and giving me such marvelous praise—I really do appreciate it. XD

_**you-go-on-my-cookie wrote:**_

_**Sorry that I didn't review the 5th chappie! I hope you'll forgive me! Anyway I like how you build up the tension in ch. 5 and I like the result in ch. 6. Are Daisuke and Satoshi goona meet any time soon? Sounds cheasy but: Keep up the good work!**_

Ah, that's okay—Don't let it get to you. I forgive you! You like tension? I like tension…and angst…and torturing Krad…and I regret to say that Daisuke and Satoshi aren't going to meet for a long ti—oh…wait…for you I'll try to make them meet within the next two chapters…first we have to get past Krad's past and work our way to their meeting…okay?

_**Rinoki Rio wrote:**_

_**Dinner for two could be ruined! man overboard! or should I say men? Will Dark do the heroic thing and leap over the ship's edge to save them! Tell me! Onwards to the next chapter! Bye-cha!**_

_**And…**_

**_Krad the saviour! Everyone loves Krad. And _****_Im_****_ thinking especially Dark . Will the dinner still be on? Because that would be such an awkward meal hehehe. Please update when you can because this story is fun! Bye-cha!_**

_Ah, I'm so glad to see that you reviewed to this! Marvelous, and dinner WAS still scheduled, but now Dark has messed it up—will their little date be cancelled or will the two work out their problems? Find out…the next time I update! XD_

_**Vera wrote:**_

_**grits teeth I HATE Kei Hiwatari... Man overboard? It's Daisuke isn't it?**_

_**And…**_

_**This chapter definitely doesn't seem like a filler... There was definitely enough action to keep it interesting.**_

_Really? You think so? Well, thank you! I'm not too fond of Kei, myself, but…we'll see how everything works out in the end. Are you enjoying this so far? I hope so. Thank you for your review, and I hope you forgive me for the long update!_

_**theangeldark wrote:**_

_**Aw. Krad is so cute!XD What was that "Yeah, yeah, you say that now but the moment I let my guard down is the time you'll need me to watch out for you" mean? And YAY!XD You updated before I could even tell. Yay!XD**_

_Why thank you! That little quote means that Dark knows if he lets Krad rely on himself too much that when he DOES need help, Dark won't be prepared. Sort of…well, thank you for reviewing! I'm glad to see you so excited about the story! Thank you for reviewing, and I hope you still like this story!_

_**xpeachiex ()**_

_**Criticism time. Mm. I had a nice typed out review, and then my computer did...something. And I can't do anything. So, let me give you a shortened version of what I was going to put up. **_

_**Now, as I said before, it's bad to put adjectives after said. It is also bad to add details after your dialogue. (e.g. "Yes," he said, and picked up the glass looking at it curiously). Either the action is important or it's not. Cut it out, or give it a new sentence. (Yes," he said. He picked the glass up, looking at it curiously). Have I said this? I apologize if I have. Anyway, what I notice is you always have a comma after your dialogue, then she/he said, or something along those lines. Muttered, cursed, groaned, whatever. Before I get into what I want to say, let me add something. You can't groan dialogue. Or laugh it. Just try. Or anything else, really. You can say dialogue, and other things (mutter, murmur, scream, shout, etc.) but most of the time, you might put something like,**_

_**he groaned, which is wrong. All right, now what I was going to say before. You always have said, or whatever after your dialogue. (e.g., "I understand," he muttered). You do it all the time. At **_

_**least, in this chapter you did. But you don't have to do that. You can end with a period ("I understand.") a long as it is clear who is speaking. This also adds to the dramatic effect as in, if someone was saying something like, "She's gone. I'm sorry, but she's dead," he said. No. It kills it. Do something like, "She's gone. I'm sorry, but she's dead." He looked up at her, and then flinched when he hard the glass crash to the ground. You see? I'm sureyou now this, but, you know how I love to give tips and what not. Also, one more thing, I always find it odd to do this: "I…Uhm…" Krad said, tossing Dark a hesitant look. Dark smiled lightly, and Krad said, "I…didn't really do anything…" You did that, and by that I mean having 'and said'. Look over it. Read it aloud. you should always do tha with dialogue. It sounds weird, doesn't it? There's two 'saids' in the two sentences, and that doesn't sound good. What about,"I…Uhm…" Krad tossed Dark**_

_**a hesitant look. He smiled lightly. "I…didn't really do anything…" If you had done it like that, I think it still would have been clear who was speaking. If not, you could have just put Krad said, after the second piece of dialogue. Mm. Well, that's all for today. Have a nice day dear. I have the flu now –peachie**_

_Yay! You have more criticism for me! I love it—and ever since I read this I've been trying new things. I hope I'm doing it right, now, but I apologize, still. Bah, I HATE to be so short when writing this, but I'm REALLY short on time. I hope you can forgive me for doing such a crappy job replying to your review, but thank you very much, and I hope you still enjoy this!_


	8. VIII

Krad shuddered, and Dark looked down from atop the blonde. "Krad?" he persisted.

Krad, still pinned to the wooden floor remained silent for a long moment before finally mustering enough breath to reply, "Get off."

Hesitantly, Dark did so, giving the blonde enough room to sit up, and Krad did just so, pulling his shirt's tail down to cover his scarred back before pulling himself backwards, towards the railing of the boat.

When his back hit the hard wooden surface, he sighed heavily and drew his knees to his chest, wrapping his arms around them and tucking his head under.

Dark waiting a moment, and when it appeared the other male was done moving gently scooted next to him, murmuring his name quietly. "Krad?"

Krad sighed again and said, his voice mumbled, "My father…"

Dark nodded in understanding, looking over the blonde, who seemed to curl into himself. "Why?"

Finally raising his eyes up enough to meet Dark's gaze, Krad said after yet another long moment, "Because I wasn't good enough."

The violet haired captain blinked. "You wanna talk about it?"

Krad shook his head, signaling how little he wanted to, but said anyway, "My mother died in childbirth. My father thought it to be my fault…and…I had to live with that, is all."

Dark placed a reassuring hand on the blonde's shoulder and said, upon shaking his head regretfully, "I'm sorry."

"Don't be. It doesn't matter anymore—he's dead and I don't have to deal with him anymore."

"Oh," Dark said, and then added, "If you don't mind…how long ago?"

Krad was silent as his eyes wandered to the floorboard of the Black Wings. Dark didn't think Krad would answer as a few seemingly long moments ticked by, and was surprise when the blonde's timid voice rang out, "Three days before I came of age. They…buried him the day I turned sixteen."

Dark nodded as Krad added quietly, "That was…_almost_ five years ago…"

Dark's browed furrowed and he said, rather surprised, "You're only twenty?"

Krad nodded indifferently, as the other swore. "Damn! I could have sworn you were older!"

Krad shrugged. "Why would you think that?" he asked, seeming a little more willing to talk now that there was a change of topic.

Dark considered his answer, and said simply, "I dunno…"

Inside though, he knew. It was the blonde's eyes…they held so much…so…just so many things Dark had never seen in anyone before. There were emotions floating around that he couldn't even identify…none the less relate to, himself.

"So…how old are _you_?" Krad asked, looking curiously at the other male, whom had fallen silent.

"Huh? Oh…twenty two."

"I see."

Everything was silent for a long moment, no other sounds to be heard except the crashing of waves and the call of the birds, and then Dark asked, "So, where did you grow up?"

"Azumano."

Dark's eyes widened in disbelief. "Really? You're kidding?"

Krad shook his head. "No. Why?"

"'Cuz that's where _I_ grew up! When was the last time you were there?"

Krad raised an elegant brow. "Almost five years ago."

"Really? That's too bad—it's gotten better over the years. My crew always stops there when we're low on supplies and in the area. Come to think of it, I was thinking of heading there to stock up and repair the ship—since it's only about a days sail away from here."

The blonde's face darkened, and he looked away. "Oh…"

Dark watched curiously, not catching on. "Hey—what's—oh…"

Krad nodded slightly, signaling that the other's assumptions were correct. There were…too many bad memories. He didn't ever plan on going back there again…

"Well…we don't…we don't _have_ to go—"

"No. No, it's fine. Don't let me stop you from going. It might…It might be good for me to go back…"

Dark nodded, watching the blonde very carefully. "You sure?"

Krad closed his eyes. "What's the worst that can happen? It'll be fine…I'm sure…"

Dark shrugged, closing his eyes and leaning his back against the railing. "Alright. If you say so…"

"I thought I'd find you two up here," called a familiar voice, and two sets of eyes flashed open to fall upon Emiko, carrying two trays up the stairs with her.

"Oh—sorry Emiko—I uh…"

"Don't give me any excuses. It's fine—luckily it was too hot to get cold while you were up here," the older woman said, smiling as she neared the two.

"I do hope I didn't interrupt anything," she said, looking down at the two.

"No—nothing much," Dark said, casting a quick glance at Krad and hoping all the while that Emiko hadn't noticed.

She was a mother though, of _course_ she had noticed. Simply shaking it off though, she shrugged and placed a plate into each of the other's hands. "Eat up. I don't want either of you getting sick."

"'Kay," Dark said, looking at the contents lined up on the plate. "Thanks, Emiko."

"Yes…thank you," Krad said, suddenly embarrassed.

"No problem!" The woman replied cheerfully. "Are…Krad, are you all right?"

The blonde looked up at her with innocent eyes. "Uhm…yes…why wouldn't I be?"

"You…you're blushing. I just wanted to make sure everything was okay…are you sick?"

"Ah…no, I'm fine, thank you…"

Krad felt the two sets of eyes boring into him, and he felt his face increase in temperature before looking up and smiling slightly. "I am…really sorry about this."

"About what?" Dark asked, poking at the food on his plate.

"Everything. I really should…just leave the lot of you. I should just leave at the next port…"

Dark shook his head. "I don't think so."

Krad looked up curiously. "Why?"

"Because, my good man, you are our prisoner," Dark said, smirking.

"Mm…why is that? You can't possibly hope to bargain anything for my return, and all I'm doing is draining your supplies…"

"Not really…" Dark said, reaching over and poking at Krad's plate. "You don't eat much. And you're actually a use to the crew…I mean, you _did_ save Daisuke, and you're good at taking orders."

"What does that have to do with me being a prisoner?"

Emiko watched curiously, a smile drifting onto her face. "I think, Krad, he wants you to stay because he likes you. You two _do_ get along well…and make good friends…but in any case, _not_ because you're his 'prisoner'"

Dark scowled, "What? That's…that's stupid."

She smiled, a knowing look lingering in her eyes.

Dark sighed. "How'd you know?"

"I'm a mother—you can't hide things from me."

"All right, all right. Yeah, I want Krad to stay 'cuz I really like his company. So," he said, turning to the blonde whom had long since fallen silent, "Will you stay?"

Krad swallowed. "I…but…I can't…"

"Why?"

"Because I've made an oath to my king—I can't just _abandon_ that…"

"I'll make you a deal, though…" Dark said suddenly very slyly.

"I…" Krad sighed. "I'm listening…"

--

_Ah, so sorry for the long delay! I was TRYING to update Secrets Held Within…but I have writers block, so if any of you have any suggestions for that story…I'd be more than grateful to hear them. Still, since it has been decreed that an author shall no longer reply to his or her reviews on the story…I have decided to no longer do the usual routine. No, that doesn't mean no more reviews, it just means no more reviews HERE. Since not everyone has an account on fanfiction dot net, I have decided to reply to all of you in the review section! I know this may be a little confusing, but you must understand that…it will work…I hope. And the good thing is that I'm not breaking any rules in the process! So, every updated chapter I will respond, only you will have to look in the review section. How redundant…I keep repeating myself. Anyway, those looking for replies will find the ones for this chapter in the Reviews for Chapter 7, all right? Sorry to have wasted so much of your time…_


	9. IX

"All right. It's simple. You tell your king that you quit, and break the oath and you can be captain of my ship."

"What?"

"You heard me. If you stay with me, you can be captain of the Black Wings."

Krad blinked and shook his head, trying to clear his mind of Dark's sudden proposition. "Why would I want your ship? I've got my own."

"Good point…" Dark said, scratching his chin. "Good point…"

"Now what?" Krad asked, almost boredly.

"I don't know…I'm out of ideas…" Dark said sheepishly.

"Well than I guess that means no deal, hmm?"

"Krad! You can't just leave, though! I'll miss you!" The violet haired male said, giving Krad a pleading look.

The blonde sighed. "Dark…"

"Yes?"

"I can't just give everything up like that…I've worked hard to get my ranking—hard to get where I am today. So…"

"So that means no," Dark said, sulking.

"No…that means I'll think about it."

"You'll think about it, huh? Can I change the deal? Let me make a new one with you, okay?" The pirate captain said, his eyes glinting with eagerness.

"You…don't make deals often, do you?" Emiko asked, chuckling. "It's a one time thing, Dark—you blew your chance."

"What? No—that's not fair!"

Krad released a drawn smile. "And why not?"

"Because I'm the _captain_ of this ship, and what I want to happen, happens. You get it? That's why I'm making a deal with you—I _want_ you to stay…so I'll be damned if you don't."

Krad shrugged indifferently. "All right…one more offer, but that's it—okay?"

Dark smirked. "Trust me—there's no way you can refuse _this_ offer."

The blonde nodded. "Go on?"

"Satoshi."

Krad's eyes narrowed, and there was a long silence before he said in a quieted tone, "What of him?"

"This boy…you talk about him a lot. Like he was a brother—someone close to you, at any rate…"

"Dark, get to the point, what does your offer have to do with Satoshi?" The militia officer asked, concern gripping his features.

"Oh, nothing. I just felt like saying that to get your attention is all," Dark said, shrugging before smirking. "No…just joking. I can see that you want him to be in your company again, right?"

Krad stated dryly, not having been too fond of Dark's short-lived joke, "I don't much care _where_ he is. Just as long as he's safe and away from _that bastard._"

There was no asking as to just whom Krad was referring to.

"Kei…" Dark murmured before asking, "So do you want revenge on him?"

Krad said nothing, and looked off into the distance.

"But," Dark continued—having taken Krad's response to be a 'yes', "You won't be able to get to him if we leave you at Azumano…you know what I'm saying? Rarely does a fleet of any sort stop by that place, and you're not likely to find a crew to go with you…so…"

The blonde drew in a deep breath, slowly releasing it. "So really my only choice to get Satoshi away from him is to stay with you…"

Dark nodded. "We—my crew and I—can help you do it, if you want us to."

"No…that's fine. I think I can manage…if you can get me back to my lord's court I can take things from there."

Dark's shoulders slumped. "So that's it? We'll just drop you off there and be gone? Never to see each other again?"

The blonde flinched, covering it up quickly though before saying coldly, "You won't _want_ to see me again after that."

"And why not?"

"Because, Dark, it would seem that you have forgotten…it is my task to kill you. I cannot abandon that mission so easily," the other male returned quietly.

Now it was Dark's turn to fall silent. "After…everything, you'd still do that…?"

"I have to. I have no choice."

"Oh, would you cut that out—_both_ of you are acting like children," Emiko said, having been almost completely forgotten by the two males. "Krad—you have _every_ choice in the world, and Dark—you should know that he plans to be loyal to his king until the end. Don't make this worse on you."

The woman sighed and said, "I'll let you two figure this out on your own, but remember—you only live once; Don't make any choices you think you might regret."

Dark blinked. "What?"

"Just remember that, okay? You may not understand now, but maybe when you_ grow up_ it'll make a little more sense, _Dark,_" The woman said with a small smile as she stood up and stalked away.

"Hell…what was that all about?" the captain asked, shaking his head and tossing a quick glance to the blonde.

He hadn't made any move at all, still staring across the blue waves and into the ever-reddening sunset.

"Krad?"

"Hm?"

"I just…I want you to know that I respect any decisions you're going to make…but if we ever meet again after this whole thing is over…" he paused before saying, "I'm not going to fight you."

"…Why?"

"Because…dammit," he cursed quietly, "I don't think I could ever put my blade against yours."

"Yes…but why?" The blonde asked, turning to regard Dark curiously.

Dark shifted uncomfortably. "Because…because…I think I l—"

"You…what?"

Dark shook his head, forgetting that sudden though. "I think I'd lose. That's what I was going to say."

"Oh…"

An awkward silence developed around the two, and Krad let out a sigh. "I wouldn't fight you. I don't think _I_ could win against you because…Dark, this is going to sound horribly stupid, me just threatening you and everything, but…You're the best friend I've ever had…and I just couldn't bring myself to do that."

This brought a smile to Dark's face, and he cocked his head slightly to the side to get a better view of the blonde. "What about Satoshi?"

"You said it yourself…he's like a brother to me. You…on the other hand…"

"I get it. Thanks, Krad. You're the best friend _I've _ever had."

The blonde nodded. "Thank _you._" He shifted uncomfortably then, and said a long moment later, "Can I tell you something?"

"Sure, anything. What is it?"

Krad paused, choosing his words carefully. "I know…that you know how I feel about Satoshi being with Kei…but his safety isn't the only thing that I'm worried about…when he's around him…"

Violet eyes narrowed. "What do you mean by that…?"

"I mean…Satoshi…he holds something that…if in the wrong hands, could be disastrous…and I can only pray Kei himself doesn't know and is just using the boy…"

"What are you…talking about? That doesn't make a lot of sense, you know…"

"All right…I'll…try to explain. You've heard the legend of…" Krad swallowed, "Of the ancient Hikari family…correct?"

Dark's brows narrowed as he pondered this question, and he said after a brief moment, "They were pirates, right? What does that have to do with _this_?"

"Hold on—let me continue," Krad said as he cast a quick glance at the ocean, watching as the ever fleeting hues of orange and red were slowly masked by deep purples and blues—stars becoming apparent in the darkening sky. "They _were_ pirates, but they were also renowned artists. It was said that they brought they had the ability to bring their artwork to life…"

The blonde sighed, continuing, "But that isn't the point. The last Hikari—the most famous—was called 'The White Shadow'. They called her this…for many reasons. One—was because of her name: Shiroi—_meaning_ white, and two, because it is said that she could plunder any ship or estate right without ever being detected…slipping away like a shadow before she was ever caught."

Dark nodded, listening.

"Anyway, in her last year of pirating it is said that she stole the heart of a man, and they fell deeply in love. She was…eventually impregnated by the man, and he told her she should stop her thieving because things were getting much too dangerous to continue. She begged to be allowed one last stand, and eventually the man succumbed and she left for her final stand." Krad paused, catching his breath, and then went on, "She found an artwork left behind from her ancient ancestors, long forgotten by most. It had…impeccable power and was on the verge of releasing mass destruction, so she did what she could. She sealed the artwork and locked the key to its power into a small charm…a necklace…"

The moon was now rising, illuminating the drawn face of the blonde and the eager face of the indigo haired male.

"So? What happened then?" Dark asked when Krad ceased his story telling.

The blonde's voice turned cold and bitter and he said, "She died."

"What? But what about her child? And the artwork…?"

"She gave birth to her child and died shortly after. There are no reports that the artwork has ever been found."

Suddenly, a thought hit Dark. "Wait…how do you know this?"

Krad shrugged, his gaze not meeting Dark's.

"Hikari? Aren't you…aren't _you_ a Hikari?"

"I am."

"She was…_you're_ mother, wasn't she…"

"She was."

Dark's brows narrowed. "Oh…I'm sorry to hear that…"

"No, it's all the past. I never knew her, so…it isn't as bad as it sounds," Krad said with a shrug.

"But…if she hadn't died…then you're father wouldn't have—"

"That's enough, Dark…Please don't remind me. I've reminisced about that enough for one day," The blonde said with a bland expression.

"Right…I'm sorry…"

There was another expanse of silence before Dark spoke again, "Hey…what happened to the necklace, though?"

"Ah…yes…I forgot to tell you. It had been entrusted to one of my mother's close shipmates after her death…She didn't want my father to get it because…even though he was a good person she knew he had a greedy heart and might…do something the rest of us would regret. Anyway, when I was about eight her old crew paid a visit to Azumano and dropped by to check up on me…You can imagine how that went," he said with a dry chuckle, "and I ended up having that necklace in my possession before they left."

"After I joined the king's forces I passed that necklace on to…" Krad's voice died away, leaving Dark to find his own conclusion.

"You gave it to Satoshi…"

"And now that I'm not there to protect him from Kei…"

"You think Kei even knows about it, though?" Dark asked.

"My mother's tale is very well known…it must have just slipped by your ears. And it doesn't help that he's come in on me talking about it with Satoshi more than once…"

"Damn…But…Isn't there…He wouldn't know where to find the artifact, would he…?"

Krad sighed. "There is an incantation…it's very small…but it's inscribed on the back of the charm. It…it tells where to find the island the artifact…"

"So that means…"

"It's highly probably that he…that he'll go after it."

"And for us that means…?"

"It means that if he gets it…we're going to be in one hell of a fix."

--

_Hah! I finally updated…Oh, wow—I'm **so** sorry! I hadn't meant for it to take this long…but I kinda had writer's block and about two weeks ago figured out what I was going to do and then…forgot. So, I want to thank Genkai1314 for helping me remember and allowing me to update this chapter! I'll try not to make you guys ever wait this long again for me to update a story, so please forgive the horribly long expanse of time as well as any errors you might have found. Thank you for reading this, and I hope you will continue to do so!_


	10. X

Ocean of the Unforeseen

--

Chapter 10

--

"But…" Dark said, frowning, "What if someone else got there before he did?"

Krad shrugged. "What are you getting at?"

"I mean…isn't there any way we could stop him?"

"We don't even know if that's what he's going after…"

"But, assuming it _is_, would you be able to get there?"

Krad shrugged. "I don't know…I guess…"

Dark smiled slightly. "We should do it…"

"Why?" The blonde raised a brow, looking at Dark skeptically as the other male's eyes rose to greet the moon. "Just because," Dark said with a light smile.

"You still don't want me to leave…that's what this is all about, isn't it?"

Dark shrugged, looking at Krad again. "Maybe, but still. Aren't you a little curious, at least?"

"No."

"…How can you not be?"

"I don't know. How much longer until we reach Azumano?"

"Probably only a few more hours, at most. Before morning, at least."

Krad nodded. "I'm going to bed, then."

"Already?" Dark asked, watching the blonde stand up. "Yes…I'm rather tired," Came the other's response.

"I guess you would be…" Dark said, rising to his feet as well. "What are you going to do tomorrow?"

"I think…I'll go to his grave. I've never been…and I want to see how it is."

Dark smiled slightly and nodded as well. "Night, Krad."

"Goodnight, Mousy."

--

When morning came, it became apparent that neither of the two captains slept as well as they would have liked, their dreams having been plagued with memories and strange apocalypses.

Krad was sitting up in his bed, leaning heavily against the wall behind him when he heard a knock on the door. "Come in," he called looking towards the small redhead who entered afterward.

"Uhm…hi, Krad. I didn't wake you, did I?"

"No. I've been up for a long time."

"Already? But it's so early…"

"I didn't sleep well," Krad said with an uncaring shrug.

"Oh…well…Dark says he needs you on the deck…"

"Did he say why?"

Daisuke shook his head. "No…"

Krad nodded. "All right. Tell him I'll be up in a minute, would you?"

Daisuke gave a small grin. "Sure."

Krad waited until the smaller boy had left before getting out of bed, slowly stretching. He reached for a set of folded clothes resting on the desk next to his bed and swiftly changed before heading upstairs.

Dark was easy to find, shouting random orders and chasing seagulls around the deck. The blonde smiled, amused, as he walked behind the captain.

"Damn! These birds are just gonna keep—!" He jumped, turning and seeing Krad behind him. "Krad! What are you—what are you doing here?"

"You called for me. Why are you chasing birds?"

Dark shrugged, scratching the back of his head nervously. "They…I don't want them to shit on my ship, okay?"

Krad raised a brow again and smiled. "And why is that?"

"What? You _like_ bird feces all over your things?"

"That's just sick…" the blonde said, scowling. "But really, why did you need me?"

"I dunno. I thought we could go out today."

"_What_?"

"Whoa, wait—that's _not_ what I meant," Dark said quickly, shaking his hands as his face reddened. "I meant I thought we could hang out together today!"

"Oh…I see. Why didn't you just say that, then?"

"Because I wasn't thinking, I guess…"

"Well…all right. I guess I'd like some company."

"I'm not going as company—I'm going to make sure you don't do anything stupid?"

"Honestly," Krad said as he walked towards the railing of the ship, "Am I the type of person to do something stupid?"

"I don't know, but I'm not taking the chance."

"Whatever."

--

The air was filled with the scent of freshly baked goods, and Dark let out a sigh as he drew in another long breath. "God, I love that smell," He said, tossing a quick glance over to the blonde who looked around curiously.

The two continued walking down the old, over-used path leading through town. "wow…" Krad mumbled. "This place really _has_ changed…"

Dark nodded. "It has. They cleaned it up a bit," he licked his lips, looking at a nearby vender's selection of fresh fruits. He turned his head, noting a cart of fresh bread. Swearing lightly, he looked at Krad. That didn't help either, he realized, the sight of the blonde only making him hungrier. Finally, he cursed, and said, "Krad, I'm getting something to snack on. What do you want?"

Krad raised a brow. "I'm not hungry, but thanks for the offer…"

"Nonsense—do you want some fruit?"

"No…"

"But you'll get _scurvy_, or some other god-awful disease!"

"I'm _not_ going to get scurvy, so stop worrying, all right?"

"But Kraaaad…Please?"

"If you shut up…why are you so insistent on getting me something to eat, though?"

"Oh, come on," Dark said, walking over to the fruit vender and purchasing two apples in a very swift manner, tossing one of them to Krad. "You're all skin and bones. I worry, you know…"

Krad caught the ripe fruit with ease and polished it on his shirt until it gleamed with a dull shine. "What do you worry about?" The blonde said, taking a small bite out of it.

"If there's another storm, I'm afraid you'll just blow away!"

Krad rolled his eyes. "You seem stupid today. What's gotten into you?"

Dark shrugged. "Must be from coming home. I'm feeling kinda giddy, you know?"

Krad shrugged. "Can we go now?"

"Go where?"

"The church…where my father is."

Dark released a sigh a long moment later, his gaze drifting to the sky plastered with dull, gray clouds. "Just as long as we're not out too late…"

Krad nodded. "Afraid it's going to rain?"

"It probably will. It seems to do that every time my crew and I roll in, you know?"

"So you just have really bad timing…is that it?"

Dark shrugged. "Yeah, I guess…"

--

The burial site was cold, and had an eerie silence drawn about it. Large, leafless trees grew frequently in the area, and tombstones sprouted up from the ground like spring flowers. Small clumps of mushroom graces the land as well, creating strange, delicate shapes.

Dark suppressed a shiver when they walked past the gate, looking beyond the horizon. The dim gray clouds seemed to meet along the horizon, burying the late afternoon sun. Water splashed against the jagged rocks, creating a cooler, misty atmosphere.

"This place…is really dreary…" Dark muttered after a long moment, rushing to catch up with Krad.

The blonde nodded. "I wouldn't want to be buried here…It seems as though no one is here…"

"No one _alive_, anyway…"

"It _is_ a cemetery…"

Dark shrugged. "Yeah, But still…no one else is here…not even paying their respects or _anything_, you know…?"

"We're here."

"Yeah, but we're the only ones. And we don't even _live_ here."

Krad shrugged, slowly walking past graves as he searched for a name. "I guess."

The two continued their walk in silence for a long moment before Dark noted the eerie silence and slowed down, looking backward towards where the blonde was. Or rather, where he _should_ have been…behind the pirate captain, though, there was nothing.

Violet eyes scanned the area around him quickly. He drew in a sharp breath after seeing nothing—no signs of life, whatsoever. "Krad?"

--

_Yes, this is short, I am afraid…there was a lot of dialogue in this chapter…and we all know how much you'd rather have action of some sort. My apologies for such a horribly long delay in writing this—but this chapter is for you, LoserCrossing, and I hope you above all people were at least somewhat pleased with this. Look foreword for another update soon!_


	11. XI

Ocean of the Unforeseen

--

Chapter 11

--

An icy breeze brushed through Dark's hair, tangling it no more than it normally was. His eyes scanned the barren graveyard quickly; he called out again for the blonde, "Krad?"

There was still no answer. He took a few steps foreword, then, glancing near the decrepit church that stood in the far corner, closest to the sea. His cry was more desperate this time, "_Krad!"_

The violet haired captain made a rushed dash back to the small gate that encircled the burial site, and shielded his eyes from the rays of the now setting sun as his eyes quickly ran over the below land. From his view on the tiny hill he could see far across the island…far enough to spot a sheen of golden locks disappearing behind a building in obvious haste.

Was that…?

It couldn't be Krad…there was no way he would have run from Dark,_ especially _after…

Dark's mind came to a reeling stop—was it possible that Krad had just been playing him this whole time, waiting for a chance to escape?

As much as Dark wished not to believe this small fact…there was little he could think of in the blonde's defense. Clouds rolled over the sun, blocking out its rays and Dark, now, was dashing down the hill after Krad.

"It makes perfect sense--!" He yelled to himself as he made a leap down the hill, his eyes never leaving where the blonde had disappeared. "He…he played me for a fool the whole time! He knew that if he could get my trust…that I'd be too lenient with him! That has to be it! And now that we're on…Dammit!" he cursed, as he nearly stumbled. "Alright! No more…talking to myself…"

He scaled the hill in a few scant seconds, running down to the small intersecting road Krad had seemed to be following, darting in the blonde's general direction.

People sauntered slowly down the streets, and Dark realized that if he wished to gain on the blonde…then these people would definitely need to get out of his way.

He tried yelling, "Get out of the way! _Now!_" A few times, and when he received little more response than a few cocked heads and raised brows, he drew his gun. This got a reaction from the crowd—many of them drew away swiftly, emitting small cries of shock.

Dark took a deep breath, and once the paved road was clear, he started dashing again.

It had only taken a moment or two to catch up to the blonde—where as Krad had to deal with the crowd of people, they simply seemed to disappear when Dark came into view.

"Krad!" Dark yelled, knowing full in well that the blonde could hear him. He was ignored. He tried again, and when the blonde gave no response, Dark did the only thing he could thing of, making a mad dash in midair and gripping onto the blonde's torso as they fell.

He brought the blonde down in a hard tackle as he attempted to pin the squirming figure.

Krad gasped, "Get off!", and struggled furiously.

"N-no!" Was all Dark could get out before he felt the blonde's fist collide with his face in a brutal punch.

"I have to go!" The blonde managed to offer as he stood up swiftly, turning to run once again. He stopped when he heard the tiny click.

"You _bastard_!" he heard Dark pant. "Don't even think about running…"

Slowly the blonde turning, his eyes narrowing when his gaze met the gun pointed directly at him. "Dark—" he started, pleadingly. The pirate cut him off before he could get anything else out, muttering a raged, "Shut up, Krad. I don't want to hear anything from you right now."

"But—"

"Shut _up_!"

"Why?"

Dark grit his teeth, irritably. "I am _not _in the mood for games. I am _not_ in the mood for _you_! Now stop _talking_ and get over here. We're going back to the ship," he said, rubbing his pained face.

Krad tried a gain, "But—"

"_No_! One more word and I swear I'll shoot you! Got it?" Dark said, bitterness creeping into his raised voice as he gestured with the gun clutched firmly in his hand.

The blonde looked about to protest again, but closed his mouth. His movement was slow, he held a lingering glance at the ground before turning to meet Dark's gaze, then looked back towards the port opposite of the one the _Black Wings_ was currently docked in. He heaved a heavy sigh, turning back to Dark. He looked pleadingly into his eyes.

"_Go_." Was all the other said.

--

Dark was in a horrid mood, that much could be said. Krad could almost feel his rage leaking out all around him as the pirate led him—forced him, rather, back to the decks of the _Black Wings_.

He had wanted to say something—something _very_ important, but…Dark was obviously not in the mood to talk. Every time Krad even opened his mouth, he was jabbed sharply in the back with a now very familiar gun.

When the rich black sails of Dark's vessel came into view, the duo's pace picked up.

Emiko noticed them first, waving rapidly. "Oh! Dark! I was just looking for you—Dinner is…" she paused, observing, "…ready… Dark, what's going on?"

Dark scowled. "I want his arms bound, at least. Have someone take him to his room. Lock the door; I don't want him trying to get out."

Emiko didn't even bother to try concealing the confused, shocked expression that crept onto her face. She was about to question this order, but Krad beat her to it, "Why?"

"Because you, Mister Hikari, have already made a fool of me once. I will not have it again. And because, though I may be a pirate myself, I do _not _approve of liars or deceivers."

"But I haven't done any of—"

Dark cut the blonde off again. "I want someone outside his door at all times, until I can figure this out," and with that he stormed across the deck, downstairs, and into his cabin after slamming the door shut quite audibly.

Two burly men approached Krad, and the blonde did little to protest except by casting a confused glance at Emiko. She returned the look, watching as the he was carted downstairs and into his room as well.

--

It was several hours after Krad had been locked into his room. His hands were bound rather tightly behind him, but he paid little mind to that fact as he stalked across the length of his room, pacing.

There was a small knock on his door, before it opened, and a more than hesitant Daisuke entered, holding a small platter. "My…mother told me to bring this to you," he said, setting the plate down atop the small table next to the door. He cast a nervous look towards Krad, who met it with a cold stare.

"Uhm…yeah," Daisuke said, turning quickly to leave. He paused when he heard Krad's voice ring out, "Daisuke. Come in for a moment longer?"

"Uhm…I really can't," the redhead said, "I have a lot of things to do…I'm really busy…"

"Is that so?" Came the bland response.

"Uhm…" Daisuke looked at the ground, and bit his lips slightly.

"What did he tell you?" Krad asked, sinking down onto his bed with a huff.

"Who?"

"Dark."

Daisuke looked up. "Er…that I shouldn't…" he paused.

"Stay here long? Be around me?"

"Yeah…something like that…"

Krad raised a brow. "But will you? Just for a moment, I mean…I have to tell you something."

There was certain urgency in the blonde's voice that made Daisuke swallow any fears he had acquired and step into the room again, closing the door behind him. I…guess. What is it?"

"Today. I was running, yes, I'll admit, and I _did_ leave Dark without telling him where I was going, but…I wasn't trying to get away."

Daisuke raised a brow. "Is that why he's mad?"

"I think so. But that's not important, now. What _is _important is this. I saw something…and I just couldn't stop myself. I couldn't think about anything but getting _there._"

"Where…?" Daisuke asked, crossing his arms.

"The East Port."

"The one across town?"

Krad nodded, "That one."

"Well…what did you see that made you want to go there so badly…?"

"A ship. My ship."

Daisuke frowned as he connected the pieces. "So…"

"its name is the Archaic Light. I wanted to get there…to find someone. Can you do me a favor, Daisuke?"

The redhead nodded, "I can try…"

"Dark won't let me out unless I can explain to him this ordeal. He still thinks that I was trying to run away from him—which, in my mind, makes no sense at all, but right now he will not listen to me. I am quite confident that I _cannot_—"

There was a heavy knocking on the door, then. "Daisuke…? Are you alright in there?"

"Huh?" the redhead muttered, quickly turning to face the door. "Yeah!" he called, recognizing the voice to be one of the shipmates that worked on deck.

"Come out. Th' Captain doesn't want anyone in there…"

"Oh…right. Coming, then!" the red head said before turning quickly to Krad, "What do I need to do?"

"There's a boy; about your age. Blue hair—you really can't miss him. His name is Satoshi, and no matter what happens, I _need_ you to make sure he gets away from that ship—The _Archaic Light_. There's a man with him—well, never mind—just get Satoshi _out of there_; Bring him here, if you can…_please_."

Daisuke nodded. "Yeah. I'll try to talk to Dark, too," he said hurriedly as he opened the door.

"Thank you."

--

"We're leaving tomorrow?" Satoshi asked, raising a brow at the brown haired man before him.

"Bright and early."

"And you said we were getting another ship? Have the arrangements already been made?"

Kei nodded. "Oh, yes."

"I don't get it," the boy said sullenly, "What's wrong with this boat?" He gingerly slid his fingers over the hard, glossy railing of Krad's only real prized possession.

"It reeks of _him._ Besides," Kei said with a smirk, "There's a much faster ship docked just around the corner. I'm _dying_ to see her."

The blue-haired boy sighed heavily, scanning the dark horizon and watching as lights from the town flickered on in the darkness.

"…Whatever."

--

_I bet a lot of you are going to kill me. I swear, for the past seven months, I've been trying to update. I came up with writer's block. For **SEVEN MONTHS **I was cursed, but now I'm finally able to get things moving along again. See, let me tell you how it happened:_

_I was sitting on the bus yesterday morning (Which, ironically, happens to be 'talk like a pirate day'—September 19) and I was struck with the most horrible and yet wonderful idea. It is horrible because I feel like this chapter was quite rushed in the making (though it took a good seven months…) but wonderful because, —hey!—it's here, at least!_

_Anyway, thank you all for reading, and I hope that you are as pleased with the update of this chapter as I am. Please, also, do not hesitate to reply, and **THANK ALL OF YOU THAT TRIED TO HELP ME GET PAST MY WRITER'S BLOCK!**_

_Now that I've **FINALLY **gotten through this writer's block, I'm quite confident you can expect an update from my stories **MUCH** swifter now. (Yeah…no more seven-month waits…)_


	12. XII

_Oceans of the Unforeseen_

_Kyuseisha no Hikari_

_Chapter 12_

_--_

The light tapping of nimble fingers on Dark's door irritated him. He tried to ignore it, but it was so _persistent_. He ducked under his pillows to drown out the noise, and just when he thought his unwanted guest was gone…there was a voice.

"Dark…"

The pirate growled. Daisuke. With _that_ voice. Maybe the boy would give up before—

"Dark…"

So pleading. So needy. Dark couldn't help himself. "_What_?" He growled, biting his tongue.

"Did I wake you? Can I come in for a minute?"

The boy already sounded cheery, and it was sickening. "Whatever," Dark huffed, sitting upright. He watched as his polished door opened, and squeaked ever-so-lightly on it's hinges.

Daisuke came in, and looked around as he always would. Dark's room never stayed the same for long. He red head's eyes shot quickly over the space, over the chest in the corner of the room, the pictures and ornaments on the wall, and eventually stilled on Dark's glaring face.

"Uhm…right…" the boy said, swallowing. He closed the door behind him and took his time to walk up to Dark.

"You can sit down," the older male said, patting the bed as he moved over a bit. Daisuke took a seat hesitantly, and focused on the ground. He twiddled his fingers, slightly, moving them around each other in a twirling motion. This motion did not escape Dark's eye, and he sighed. "What's wrong, Daisuke…"

"I don't want you to get mad at me…" the boy began, not looking up.

"Daisuke, I won't get mad at you. What's wrong?"

"Krad wasn't trying to get away from you," the redhead said hastily.

Dark's eyes narrowed, his glossy orbs clouding over. "You talked to him," he accused.

"He made me," the redhead murmured. "I couldn't _not_ listen, you know…?"

"_Daisuke_. I know you liked Krad. I liked Krad, but you have to understand: He lied to us. He _tried_ to run away! We had a deal, and he broke it. He played us all for fools," Dark hissed.

"How do you know that!?" the cabin boy said, shooting up. He glowered down at Dark, who remained seated on his bed. "You didn't ask him anything! Did you? You just _decided_ that he was trying to run away! You don't have any proof that that's what he was doing!"

Dark rose, glaring down at the redhead, "And you don't have any proof that that's _not_ what he was doing!"

"What if I do!?"

"Daisuke, you can't trust his word!"

"I have more than his word. He told me that—come on, I'll show you," Daisuke said, reaching out and tugging at Dark's sleeve. The pirate jumped back, jerking his arm out of reach. "I'm not going anywhere."

Daisuke stared on, and when Dark refused again to go with him, he huffed. "Then I'll go by myself. I'll prove to you he wasn't trying to escape you."

"You will not. You'll return to your cabin at once; It's already dark outside."

"So? I don't care if it's dark. Who are you to tell me what to do?" The redhead spat, his face darkening in rage.

"I'm your _captain_."

"You're a fool," Daisuke said, turning on his heels and stalking to the door. He opened it quickly and slammed it behind him.

By the time Dark knew what had happened, Daisuke was well off the ship.

--

Krad watched out the porthole window in the room, boredly. He moved his fingers, stiff and sore from the ropes that bound him and groaned. He let his forehead fall against the cold glass, worn from many rough waves. A speck of red in the distance caught his eye, and he watched as Daisuke almost ran of the ship. A small ounce of hope welled up inside of him.

He had little time to savor the moment before the door to his room was unlocked and jerked open. Dark stormed in, a scowl on his features. The blonde turned to him, a blank expression on his own face. It was the first time he'd seen him since earlier, and the bruise on his cheek was an unpleasant sight to behold. Krad waited for words that didn't come, and was greeted with a harsh force impacting his stomach.

Dark collided his fist with the blonde's stomach, and he roughly pushed the man to the ground. He only watched when Krad coughed for a long moment, straining for breath. The blonde opened his mouth to say something, but Dark rudely interrupted.

"You told him something. You tricked _him_, too. What if he gets in trouble? If anything happens to him, I swear to God, I'll take it out of your flesh," the captain roared, glaring with such hate in his gaze down at Krad.

The blonde let a smile fall onto his features, serving only to infuriate the captain more. "You're still here," he said softly.

Dark snorted. "So _what_? What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means," the blonde began, "that if you really cared, you'd be out after him right now."

Dark's eyes narrowed further. "I hate you. You don't know what you're talking about. I don't know where he's gone."

"But if I did? Or, if I _thought_ I knew?"

Dark's motions were swift; he leaned forward and jerked the blonde up by the front of his collar. "Where?"

"The East Port."

"Why would he go there?" Dark shot, letting Krad loose. The blonde rose to his feet, fighting once again for breath.

"Satoshi."

"…What did you say?"

"He went to get Satoshi for me, because I couldn't go myself," Krad said, only now letting his anger show.

Recognition lit upon Dark's face, and he backed up slowly. "…You led him into a trap…"

"I did not!"

"You made him go right _to_ them! It is a trap!"

Krad grit his teeth, "They don't know who he is. He's a smart boy; It's not a trap!"

Dark wouldn't listen, He glared one last time before running out the door. It barely closed, and the captain, from what Krad could see, hadn't even bothered to lock it. Krad shrugged and returned to the window, watching with mild interest as the speck of purple locks disappeared in such a rush that he barely had time to see it.

--

"Dammit, Dammit, Dammit…_Dammit_!" Dark huffed, panting quickly for breath as he ran at top speed. "Come on, Daisuke…where _are_ you!"

The roads were empty, except for an occasional beggar sleeping on the side of the road, or a stray animal watching with harsh eyes. Daisuke was no where to be found, and there wasn't much time before the East Port would be right in front of him.

He dashed down a cobbled path, and nearly had a heart attack when he ran into a frantic pair of souls. He immediately recognized Daisuke, and had they not already toppled to the ground from the impact would have surely tackled the boy there anyway.

"Daisuke! Daisuke, what were you doing? It's late—what if something happened? Why did you go alone! Dammit, I was worried! What if you'd been…" The captain's voice trailed off as he looked down at the other boy he had collided with, and watched as the child stood up. "And you would be…" Dark began.

Daisuke interrupted. "That's Satoshi. You know, Krad's friend."

--

Yes. Well. About my statement about no more terribly long waits for an update…well, whatever. I lied…But I'll try to make this the last time. This chapter is dedicated to Krad Hikari for finally making me get around to update. So, enjoy. I'll try to have the next chapter up soon; I'll update, maybe, a few more of my stories today for the lot of you. . .


	13. XIII

Dark was shocked to silence as he looked over the blue haired boy before him. His mouth quavered for a long moment before he finally managed to shut it. He swallowed and began, "Satoshi…"

"Yes, that's right. You didn't forget, did you?" Daisuke asked, making his way to his feet and brushing himself off.

"But…"

"I told you if you'd just listened to Krad…" Daisuke began, reaching out a hand to help the older male to his feet.

Dark took it, muttering a curse under his breath. "Aw, Shit," he managed, shaking his head. "Just…shut up, for now. We'll talk about it later."

"You'll apologize?" The redhead asked hopefully.

"I don't know."

From the sidelines, Satoshi cleared his throat. "Daisuke," he said simply.

The boy called looked over. "What is it?"

"You forget something. I can't stay out here for long…"

"I thought you were coming with us," Daisuke said, raising a brow.

"Not if your ship is gone," Satoshi pointed out.

Dark stood up, now, crossing his arms. "Wait. What?"

Two sets of eyes fell on him. "Oh. We didn't tell you…Sorry, Dark," Daisuke began.

"We have to hurry or they're going to take over your ship. We have to leave port now."

"Who's going to take my ship?" Dark asked, frowning.

"Hiwatari. He wants your ship," Satoshi said, looking over the disheveled captain. "He's leaving at dawn with it; the crew's already on their way to your vessel."

Dark paled, almost. "What?"

Satoshi's blue eyes narrowed. "You heard me. If you want to get out of this safe and alive, you have to get back to your ship and leave, _now_."

Dark scrambled to his feet. "This is some kind of joke, right?"

Satoshi wordlessly answered Dark's question, by simply cocking his head to the side.

"Why didn't you say something sooner?" Dark asked, frantically. The two boys merely gave an apologetic glance, and Dark swore again. "Hurry up," He spat, turning on his heels as he started back towards the West Port.

--

Kei looked around, and raised a dark eyebrow. "Hold on, men," he said slowly, glancing from face to face. "Where is Satoshi?"

Silence fell across the men as they looked around, blatant confusion written upon their faces. It was obvious to the dark haired captain that the boy was not among their numbers. He swore silently. "Where is he?" He tried again.

Silence was upon him as before. No one moved as Kei gave a deep scowl, a growl rumbling in his throat.

Someone chanced to speak out, "Sir? Do we look for him?"

Kei shook his head violently. "No. We will, but not now. He can't be far; The Black Wings is our first priority…"

A weak murmur spread throughout the heavily armed men as Kei added, "Hurry up. We've got only an hour or so before the patrol starts…we should avoid the guard. I can talk us out of any situation, but I'd _really _prefer not to handle such an ordeal."

A small chorus of 'Yes Sir' rang out before the group silenced again, and continued creeping through the dark alleyways of Azumano's lower class streets.

--

There was a soft knock on the door to the Krad's room, and he looked lazily over to the door as it swung open. Emiko looked down at the door questioningly as it swung in front of her. She narrowed her eyes in slight confusion, allowing her almost orbs to creep to the pallid face of the blonde.

"Dark never locked it," he said simply in response to her unspoken question.

"Right. Why didn't you…?" She hesitated, stepping into the room.

"Leave? Where would I have gone if I had? I decided to just wait until they bring back Satoshi, and then Dark'll understand."

"They? What do you mean bring Satoshi back?" The woman asked, closing the door behind her and anxiously making her way next to where Krad sat, cross-legged on his bed.

"Why are you here, Emiko?" Krad asked, suddenly, raising a brow.

"I was worried…I don't think Dark thinks before he acts. Were you trying to run away?"

"I would have left earlier if that was the case. The door has been unlocked for quite some time, you know…"

The woman sighed heavily. "You're right. Oh, that's such a relief," she said, shaking her head. "I didn't think you were trying to leave us…I just need to hear you say that. What were you doing?"

The blonde shrugged. "I saw my ship. I couldn't think of anything except for getting Satoshi away from Kei that I thought I…I suppose I lost my wits and just…"

"I understand. Daisuke went to get him? Satoshi?"

"And Dark ran after him."

"That explains it, then," Emiko said with a small grin. "It's been so quiet around here with the crew gone for the evening…I felt lonely and thought maybe you'd like some company."

Krad frowned. "The crew is gone…?"

"Of course. Dark always lets them do whatever they like when we're in town. He doesn't believe in keeping them cooped up in the ship for so long…"

Emiko frowned as a concerned look appeared on the blonde's face. "Krad? What's the matter…?"

"Who is on this ship? A count of how many men, I mean…"

"There…I don't know. Less than a dozen. Why?"

Krad shook his head. "Emiko…If I know that Kei is here, what do you think the probability of him _not_ knowing the Black Wings is here?"

The woman's eyes narrowed. "You don't think he'd try something, do you?"

"I do…Be on your guard, at least. If anything unusual happens, you have to be ready…"

"What are you expecting?" Emiko asked, swallowing as Krad leaned his back against the wall of his cabin and glanced out of the small glass porthole.

"Anything. He's clever…I don't know what he'll try. You should get on deck…At least then you'll have some extra time if something…happens."

Emiko nodded slowly. "Right…I'll…of course. I'll get all hands on deck to keep a watch out for anything. And for Dark."

Krad nodded again as Emiko stalked towards the door. She paused, "You're coming up, aren't you?"

The blonde gave a meek shrug before rising to his feet. "This time I will."

The woman nodded, opening the door as she waited for the blonde to catch up to her. She looked for a long moment at the ropes that bound his hands behind him. When the blonde followed her gaze, he gave what might have been a forced chuckle. "They're very tight…"

"I'll get them off once we get on deck," the woman promised, ushering Krad upstairs and on deck.

"You have my thanks," Krad said with a curt drop of his head.

A soft breeze blew across deck, and moonlight filtered atop it. Water sloshed against the side of the boat loudly. The scent of salt wafted through the wind, accompanied by a strange acrid stench.

Emiko wrinkled her nose and swatted at the air in front of her. "Ugh, What _is_ that?"

Krad paused as the strange, familiar scent enveloped his smell. "That's…"

The blonde's words were lost when a bright light spread over the deck and a horrid shot rang out through the air. By the time the initial shot was receding, a loud crackling noise had replaced it, as heat had come in the absence of light.

The Black Wings was broken and burning, small explosions still bursting every few seconds. Emiko was blasted backwards and hit the icy water with enough force to knock her breath out. She sank, slowly, unable to comprehend what just occurred. It took all of her might to force herself back to the top of the ocean. She coughed and gasped for air, forcing her eyes open a short moment later. Despite the stinging of the salt water clouding her eyes, she managed to make out the ever-shrinking form of the burning vessel.

Her eyes scanned the ocean surface roughly, and held back a cry when she saw no one. With what strength she had left, the woman swam to a nearby dock and pulled herself up. She lay there, panting, until a chorus of familiar voices chimed gently in here ear.

--

Dark was well ahead of Satoshi and Daisuke when a bright light exploded in front of him. He stopped, stunned, to block his eyes for a moment. "What was that?"

Satoshi ran next to the man, followed by Daisuke. "I have a good idea that that was just your ship."

Dark cast a quick glance and the boy, then took off again, running.

He turned a corner, running quicker than ever now. He froze when his eyes met the red and orange flames consuming the beautiful craft he once sailed. Horror filled his stomach, and his jaw formed the silent word, "No…".

"Dark," Daisuke said, his voice catching in his throat, "Do you think anyone could have…"

"It isn't likely that anyone would have survived," Satoshi said, panting.

"But my mom…"

"Your mother. Towa. My crew. Krad," Dark said brokenly. "We have to go. Maybe _someone_ made it out alive..."

Clouds drifted across the moon, leaving only the reddish-orange light from the burning ship to illuminate the area. The three had searched for no longer than a few moments when Satoshi had noticed a figure moving slowly a number of yards down on the docks. It was Daisuke that reached her first, and Dark that carried her to the best medical facility Azumano had to offer.

--

Yes... This chapter was, more or less…slightly boring you're thinking, right? Well, I might agree, but the next one should be better. Poor Emiko. And Towa. And Krad! Oh, my word. I've killed several people, and you're just going to have to live with it…I'm sorry. I'll update again soon for you.


	14. XIV

_**Oceans of the Unforeseen**_

--

_Taking place on the seas of the 18th century, Krad is commander for an elite naval force, while Dark is a well known and popular pirate. What will happen when the two collide and Krad is thrust into the arms of his sworn enemy?_

_--_

_Chapter 14_

--

Azumano wasn't a horribly large town; being located on a small island a few dozen miles away from civilization had left its mark. The northern side of the island was low and close to sea level, which made it a perfect location to have harbors and ports. Unfortunately, the years had worn away the area, and the poorer of the civilians had taken to residing in the area.

Two new ports were set up in town when it began to flourish, one on the east side and one on the west. Almost all commerce happened between these two ports. The southern portion of the island was, surprisingly enough, sparsely populated. Farmers, mainly, lived in the area. The land here was rich and fertile, supporting roaming hills and valleys. Aside from the farmer, there was an occasional flock of sheep or cows, but this wasn't anything to brag about.

Farther south than the eastern point, the gentle land violently shifted into harsh cliffs. It was atop these cliffs that sat a beautiful mansion, rising against the sky. The building was large, though only a story in height. Within it's cold brick walls radiated life, spread throughout dozens of rooms. The house was always bustling, and someone was always awake, no matter how late in the evening or how early in the morning it may be.

Fortunately for Dark, he knew this to be true, and had set off for the place with Emiko in his arms. Her clothes were filthy and wet, and her hair was disheveled. Her face and body was slightly blackened, and she sported a few bleeding cuts in various areas of her figure. It was lucky that she bled little.

Long into the night did the three arrive at the great mansion, though soon was it that Emiko had been changed and bathed, and the members of the house—a wealthy couple from far across away that had managed to both learn and retain great medical skills—had given her a thorough check over.

The three males sat in silence, crowded in the small room where Emiko had been placed. Daisuke was sitting, his elbows firmly planted atop his knees, in a wooden chair next to the bed where his mother was lying. Dark sat cross-legged atop the desk, his back pressed firmly against the cold brick. He watched Emiko with pained eyes.

Satoshi was nowhere near the other two, however, who seemed to loom protectively over the older woman. He, having no right to be in such a position, himself, had taken to locating himself into a corner, where he drawn his knees to his chin and wrapped his arms comfortingly around them.

Silence radiated throughout the room for well over half an hour before it was broken by the gentle click of a door being opened. A petite figure stepped through the door—a young woman with deep blue eyes and vibrant blonde hair, tied behind her in a long braid. She was pallid in complexion, though shined with a light of her own. In only a nightgown of white, she stepped into the room, wearily.

A smile on her delicate face, she turned to Dark. "All is not lost," she said in her tiny voice, "Emiko will be fine. She'll be sore, and maybe have a headache, but I'm positive that she hasn't shown any evidence that she's sustained any traumatic injuries."

Dark moved his gaze to the young girl. "Thanks, Freedert. For everything," he said. His voice was pained, though gratitude lingered his words, no less.

"It's not a problem. You're a good friend of ours. And Elliot and I love to help when we can."

A look of worry crossed over the girl's features. "Dark, I was meaning to ask you…what happened?"

Satoshi looked bitterly up at Dark, and the two exchanged silent words. "Someone attacked my ship."

"Oh, dear…is everyone all right?"

Dark's face took on a look of anger, then grief. "I don't know," he whispered. "Only Emiko…"

Freedert swallowed, crossing her arms over her chest. She shook her head. "I'll pray for them. There is always hope."

"Yeah, _right_," Dark said bitterly. He jumped off the desk, taking rapid steps past the young girl, who followed him with only her gaze.

"Where are you going, Dark?"

"Maybe someone else made it. I can't chance that there's someone out there suffering."

"Dark, you need to rest," the girl argued, reaching out to tug on his sleeve. He paused for only a moment before ripping out of her grip.

"You don't understand," he hissed before disappearing from the room.

Satoshi watched, hatred burning in his eyes as Dark left. Freedert shook her head sadly and followed soon after him, closing the door behind her. Nothing moved in the room, save for the occasional flicker of the candle on the bedside desk and the shadows it caused. The silence was unbearable. The thought that Krad might be dead was unbearable. The thought that this was all K_ei's _fault was unbearable.

The teenager rose to his feet angrily, receiving a curious glance from Daisuke, who had finally roused himself from his mother's bedside. He watched with eyes red from silent crying. Satoshi couldn't help but be jealous of the boy. At least for him, he knew that his mother was going to be all right. Satoshi had no idea if he would ever see Krad again.

He grit his teeth angrily, and stomped across the room. He'd be damned if he was going to stay in this room with that sniveling red head. The least he could do was give Daisuke some time to collect himself. Unfortunately, the younger boy had other plans.

"Where are you going?" he asked, brokenly, when Satoshi opened the door.

Taking a long breath, not to collect his words, but to assure himself that he wasn't going to have a sudden out burst, Satoshi said, "I am of no use, here. If we go out and search for survivors, than at least I can do something to help. I figure that I can catch up to Dark. We can cover twice as much ground together than alone."

Daisuke nodded and rose from his seat, the chair making a nerve-racking screech across the floor. "I'll come, too."

"What about your mother?"

"I can't do anything for her. Freedert says she'll just sleep. Probably until late tomorrow evening. I want to help, _somehow_…"

Satoshi nodded, releasing a breath he hadn't known he'd been holding. "So be it, then. You can come with me. I would love the company."

Daisuke sniffled, and ran his sleeve across his tearing eyes.

"Let's go," Satoshi said, gesturing to the door. Daisuke nodded and moved away from his mother with one last glance.

The two disappeared into the night.

--

Dark his fist against a tree, cursing loudly as pain shot through his arm. He drew the injured hand to his chest and clutched it tightly. His vision was suddenly blurred, and he reached up a calloused hand to wipe the tears that threatened to fall from his eyes.

"I can't," he hissed. "I can't."

_I can't lose you_.

He was running again, oblivious to the faint calls behind him. Daisuke and Satoshi were running as fast as they could, charging at full speed down the hill. Dark was still in their line of vision, though his height gave him a running advantage. He disappeared swiftly, though Daisuke still called his out for him.

Panting and out of breath by the time they had reached town, Dark was definitely gone for sure.

"We'll never find him," Daisuke said glumly, his shoulder's sinking with defeat.

"We weren't looking for him."

"…Right. What now?"

Satoshi ran his delicate fingers through his hair and scanned the town in front of him. They were walking now, slowly, back towards the dock. All was dark from a few blocks away; the ship had stopped burning. It had probably already sunken to the bottom of the floor, Daisuke thought with regret.

The sound of water sloshing became louder, and soon the little port came into view. The boat was gone, entirely, and Daisuke couldn't help but feel a pain of agony in his chest. He had grown up on that boat. It was his home.

He must have made some noise, because before he had realized it, he felt a heavy hand on his shoulder. The redhead looked up to see Satoshi watching him with a cool expression. "I'm sorry," he said. Daisuke studied the other boy's features for a long moment before nodding. His gaze drew itself back to the empty ocean where the Black Wings should have been.

He gave a sigh. "I am too."

"Let's start looking. I'll go left."

"And I'll go right."

"If you don't find anyone before…"

A clock chimed in the distance, twice.

"If you're efforts are in vain, and no one is found, meet back here when that clock strikes three. I'll wait for half an hour, and if you aren't back, then I'll come after you. If I'm not back here by then, don't worry about looking for me. I'll find my way back."

Daisuke licked his lips, finding for the first time in his life the taste of salt repulsed him.

"All right."

--

The moon was gone, and had been for at least the past hour. Dark's searching had been difficult, for without the light from the moon, he had been searching in nearly pitch-black waters for any hope of life.

He was wet and cold, sticky from the salt and grimy from the sand. He had given up walking on the docks; they were too far from the water for him to search.

He couldn't find a _single_ one.

The captain growled in rage, balling his hand into a fist until his nails had drawn blood. Salt in the bleeding wound did not please Dark, and, infuriated with the night's events, he violently slapped at the water. He pounded at it, screamed at it, and eventually sank down into it. The ocean was shallow here; even when he was sitting on the sand, the water reached only up to his chin.

He stared into the distance, and for the first time in his life, the fact that he couldn't tell where the ocean ended and the sky began frightened him. A whole ocean stood before him. Krad could be anywhere out there.

Maybe he wasn't even out there at all.

The captain's gut wrenched, and he rose to his feet. "I'm not giving up," he said to himself, fighting off fatigue. "I will find someone. There's not way in hell that they're all dead!" he cried.

Of in the distance, he saw a spark of white—a glimpse of gold.

A figure dressed in white. Only one person alive had hair that long.

No doubt in his mind, Dark was confident that the figure dimly standing only a dozen or so yards in front of him was Krad. He gave a cry of joy and rushed to the figure; his cry of joy faded when he saw the white and gold dip beneath the waves.

He ran, now, searching frantically. The person was gone. Had they fallen? But Krad knew how to swim. He wouldn't drown!

Dark dashed through the water, searching. His heart pounded loudly in his chest. Noise flooded his ears. Nothing made sense any more…just find Krad. Where had he gone?

Dark stopped splashing about in the water when his foot kicked something, hard. He leaned forward, peering into the black water as something surfaced…

As someone surfaced.

Dark gave a muffled cry and leapt back. His eyes never left the cold stare of those golden orbs that gawked, unseeing, at the sky above.

He fell back into the water, his eyes stinging from tears and salt.

The corpse floated for a moment, than made an effort to sink. Dark had wits enough not to let it, however, and scrambled for it. Dead or not, it was Krad. He dragged the body up from the water, drawing it in a tight embrace. He slowly hauled the figure to the rocky shore, where he lay it down as gently as he could.

But was it right? For one who had lived his life on the sea to be buried in the soil on the land that he hated?

No.

Tears flowed, still, from the captain's eyes.

It wasn't right.

He would give Krad what he wanted. An honorable death at sea. But…one last look before he would disappear, forever.

Krad…Dark didn't want to forget. One last look…to preserve his features in Dark's mind. One last goodbye.

His eyes scanned over the face, and he saw the blonde's delicate features, unmoving. Before he knew what he was doing, he had leaned forward, slowly, and placed a kiss on the cold forehead. "I'm sorry," he whispered. "So sorry…"

The figure coughed below him, and in a sudden burst of movement, rolled over onto the rocks. Coughing ensued. Much coughing ensued, and after a long pause, there was a cry of life.

"Dark?

The voice was not Krad's.

Dark's eyes narrowed as he peered closer into the face of the figure before him.

"Towa?"

--

_Yeah…Well. Now, Towa isn't dead. It's funny, though…I had really planned for her to die. I hadn't meant to, but it just happened that she would come back. For any of you that are confused what just happened with Dark, he went out after someone that looked like Krad. In his highly delicate state of mind…Towa looked like Krad, and he nearly killed her by sending her out to drown. How fortunate that she would find breath so sudden!_

_Bah. And I could have been so mean. I was going to leave a cliffhanger where Dark was staring into the dull and lifeless eyes of Krad. But…I didn't. Just remember that! I didn't give you an entirely bad chapter this time! I'm relatively pleased with how this one came out, and am so glad that I can say that. I finally put some effort into writing something, again! But, all of you readers may go out and thank Goddess of the Black Moon! She's such a marvelous writer, and I must thank her immensely for the awesome praise she's delivered in the past evening. You don't know how thrilled I was…_

_Anyway, my dear readers, thank you for reading, and I hope you look forward to the next chapter, which will definitely be up in due time. I'm off to update my other stories, now, because that is definitely long overdue…and I'm also going to go back and rewrite them, so…yes. Well, thank you for reading (again) and listening to me ramble. Reviews are loved, though if you haven't the time, I understand…_


	15. XV

_**Oceans of the Unforeseen**_

--

_Taking place on the seas of the 18th century, Krad is commander for an elite naval force, while Dark is a well known and popular pirate. What will happen when the two collide and Krad is thrust into the arms of his sworn enemy?_

_--_

_Chapter 15_

--

The moon illuminated the ocean's surface, reflecting off the ever-moving water. Waves broke peacefully, leaving a calming echo to resonate across the shores. Clouds were scarce in the early morning, their tiny forms and powdered trails speckling the sky in only a few scant positions.

Towa coughed, gasping for breath, Dark all the while patting on her back. "Towa, what happened?"

The lavender haired female drew in a long steady breath before speaking slowly, "It was that damnable Navy." She spoke in a whisper, her voice hoarse from drinking so much salt water. "There was an accident, I think. There was a lot of yelling, and then the whole ship was on fire…"

"Then it was Kei Hiwatari," Dark said angrily. "That _bastard._"

Towa coughed a bit, spitting out more of the ocean water. Dark looked at her with hopeful eyes. "Did you see anyone make it out?"

"Most of the crew was still out drinking. I only know that Emiko was on board with me. We were in the kitchen," Towa explained. "There were two of the men you posted to watch over us—Keiji and Funabashii, I think. And then, there was Krad…I haven't seen any of them since before the explosion."

Dark wore a sour expression, and Towa felt a ball of grief well in the pit of her stomach. "Dark, did any of them make it out?"

"Emiko's with Freedert and Elliot. She'll be fine."

Her voice cracked; "And the others?"

"I haven't found anyone else."

"Oh. Oh, _no_," the girl cried, "How could this have happened, Dark? _How_?"

Dark shook his head as he leaned forward and lifted the soaking girl out of the water. "I don't know," he muttered, agony coursing through his veins. "But I'm going to get you somewhere safe, at least…"

Towa didn't struggle in Dark's arms, though she did manage to say through her tears, "You must be tired. I can walk. Where are we going?"

Dark didn't release the girl, he only held her tighter. "To Freedert. She'll take care of you." He wouldn't let Towa go. He wasn't about to lose her, too.

--

It had been ten minutes since the clock struck three o' clock, and Daisuke shifted irritably in front of the rendezvous point. Satoshi was nowhere to be seen, and the redhead glanced nervously down the alleyways. A sense of foreboding shot through him, suddenly, and he turned behind him.

Satoshi stood, looking weary, and Daisuke gave a little jump. He cried out at the boy, "Don't do that!"

"My apologies," Satoshi said. "I hadn't meant to startle you."

"Did you find anyone?"

Daisuke looked so hopeful that Satoshi had to look away when he shook his head. "Not a soul."

"That's hardly fair," Daisuke said. "I hope they're all okay. I hope Krad's okay."

Satoshi tensed up and gave a cold glace towards Daisuke. It wasn't intended for the redhead, but the other's words evoked feelings that he'd been trying to suppress for the evening. Quietly, afraid his voice may betray him, Satoshi said, "I do, too…"

"You look so tired," Daisuke began, and Satoshi nodded. "We'll head back?" The boy nodded again, and they made their way, silently, back through town and up the hill to Freedert's house.

--

Daisuke and Satoshi nearly dropped to the floor when they first entered the mansion on the cliff. It was only thanks to Elliot, whom had taken over for Freedert so she might catch a wink of sleep, that they found themselves snuggled comfortably in a spare room.

There were two beds in the room, which was perfectly fine and convenient for the two boys, who were certainly not keen on spending the night alone in an unfamiliar home. Despite the brief hours in which they'd become acquainted, already it was as if the two were long time friends.

Satoshi had been pondering this for the longest while before he eventually grew so tired that he couldn't even keep his eyes open. He removed his glasses and set them on the bedside table, next to the tiny, dim candle that lit up the room.

Daisuke was asleep on the bed closest to the door, while Satoshi was in the bed parallel to the window. So fatigued was the older boy that he had the hardest time just moving his glasses. He pulled the sheets up to just under his arms and winced when voices began to shout from another room.

Though the voices were muffled through the wall, he could clearly make out what was being said. Dark was arguing with Freedert—or some woman, he couldn't tell for sure, about going back out to search. The woman cried out that he'd kill himself if he made another trip, though Dark seemed persistent in leaving.

Either the quarrelling died down of it's own accord or Satoshi unwillingly slipped into the depths of sleep, because in the end, all became silent.

--

The moon still hung low on the horizon when the sun began to peek up, illuminating the sky with rays of pink and orange. The clouds and ocean alike seemed to glow.

Kei Hiwatari was pleased. Not with the beautiful sunrise he was experiencing, but because he had finally eliminated his worst enemy. Dark Mousy was, no doubt, lying—dead, of course, on the ocean floor with the rest of his mangy crew, and that ridiculous boat he called a ship.

Kei ran his hand lovingly over the smooth, wooden railing of his own vessel, commenting to her, "Ah, such good times we've had. It's only a pity we won't be together anymore…"

True enough, on the dock across town was a fine ship, larger than the '_Archaic Light_', and built with capabilites to attain a much faster speed. Though her name eluded him for the moment, he didn't care. The ship was bigger, faster, better…more weapons, more masts, more sails. And it was _new_, and the navy trusted it to _him_.

A smile dawned on the man's face. No ship was faster, not even the '_Black Wings_'. If he hadn't had a better ship already on his hands, Kei was fully prepared to commandeer the ship and sail it all the way to the island that housed the Koku Yoku. Ah, the fabled artwork of legend. With it, he would achieve such _power_! He would be invincible. A god, as it were…

Kei smiled and turned to face his crew, who currently was lifting barrels and chests to be moved to the new ship. "Well, men," he said with a grin, "We'll be off in an hour. Make sure you're on board by then, or we'll leave you behind."

The men bustled about, and Kei continued chuckling.

And life _just_ couldn't get any better for him.

--

He was cold, Krad noted dully. Very, very cold. He shifted positions slightly and made a motion to open his eyes, only to come to a very painful conclusion. He snapped his eyes shut, and reached a hand out to cover the stinging golden orbs. He hissed in pain and shot up.

"Careful, careful," came a voice from his side. "I suspect you're going to have some aches…"

Krad, eyes pressed together, cocked his head towards the voice. "Where am I?" He asked, coughing a bit. His throat was sore, and his mouth was dry; his bones ached, and his flesh froze.

"You're in my house," came the gentle answer. "It's not very big, I'm afraid, but it's the best I've got. We're by the ocean," the obviously male voice stated. Seagulls cawed in the distance, confirming his statement.

"Who are you?" Krad asked, trying slowly to force his eyes open again. He let out a cry, and a firm grip was placed on his shoulder.

"Don't do that if it hurts," the man to his side said. "You'll only make it worse." There was a bit of clambering above Krad, and he had the distinct impression that the nameless male was looking for something. His suspicions were confirmed when the man gave out a sigh of relief.

"I'm going to tie up your hair and wrap these bandages around your eyes, all right? I'm no medical genius, but I've learned enough in my life to know that you shouldn't be using them, right now."

The blonde gave a feeble nod, suddenly overwhelmed. "I can't use my eyes?" He questioned, sitting perfectly still as the stranger toyed with his hair a bit before tying it up. He felt soft fabric drape in front of his eyes and the male responded, "Just for now. You were looking right at that blast, I'll bet."

"What blast? The one from—oh. The one on the _Black Wings_?"

"That's the only blast I've seen around here, recently," the man said, chuckling. "You're face doesn't have any burn marks on it. I can only think that you've lost your vision for a few days, if that's the case. But I could be wrong. Like I said—I'm no medical genius."

"You never told me your name," Krad stated, almost icily.

The stranger said nothing, only continued to wind the cloth around the blonde's eyes.

"Can I leave?" Krad asked, the silence irking him. "Not to seem ungrateful, but there's someone I have to find."

"I don't think that's such a good idea," the man said after a pause. He was tying off the end of the bandages around Krad's eyes. "I'm not going to stop you if you really have to go, but in your condition…I'd recommend at least a day of rest before you even tried to get back on your feet."

"Why's that?" Krad asked, his hand moving across the fabric beneath him as he tried to get a better idea of his surroundings. He was in a bed—as soft bed, covered in a thick blanket. There was a wall to his left, and a headboard behind him.

"You're not looking so swell," the man admitted.

"It doesn't matter. I have to go," Krad said, testing where he was. He swung his legs over the side of the bed and sat for a minute, placing a hand on his head when he was suddenly seized by a horrid headache. He let out a groan of pain, and the man next to him sighed.

"You won't get far without your eyes," he offered. Krad could clearly tell that this man only meant to help, and for some reason, he found that he trusted him, despite the lack of name. There was something familiar about him, and Krad found himself biting gently at his lower lip as he pondered his situation. "You're right," he said, reluctantly. "But I don't have a choice."

The man sat down in a chair, Krad determined, listening to the sound of wood creaking. Clothes ruffled together, and Krad imagined a faceless man leaning forward in his chair. "Where do you need to go?"

"Pardon?"

"I asked who you had to meet. Where do you need to go?"

Krad swallowed, repulsed at the dryness of his mouth. "My friends."

"Do they have names?"

Krad nodded. "May I have some water?" He asked.

"Oh, of course. I'm sorry. I'll be right back." The man rose from the chair and walked across the room. Krad listened to the chime of glasses, and the splash of water. Footsteps grew louder and he felt a cold glass being pressed into his hands.

"Thank you," he said, taking a sip of the drink. He didn't realize that he'd nearly drinking all of the crystal clear water when he lowered the glass and continued, "A Dark, a Satoshi, and a Daisuke. I'm looking for all of them. Or one of them, because no doubt he will lead me to the others."

Silence for a long moment, and the man questioned, "Dark Mousy?" Krad gave a small nod when the man chuckled. "And…Daisuke Niwa?"

"Do you know them?"

The man sounded nostalgic. "We've met. A long time ago."

"You sound very familiar," Krad said, at last. "I've never met you?"

"I don't think so," the man offered.

"How strange…Thank you," Krad said, gesturing with the glass of water. The man took it from his hands, carefully. "Would you like some more?"

"I'm fine. I really have to be leaving."

"Wait. I'll make a deal with you."

"Pardon?"

The man sighed. "I can't just let you leave in your condition. I'll make a deal with you. I'll take you up to town tomorrow, to look for your friends, if you promise to just get some rest for today."

"How can I trust you?" Krad asked. The man didn't respond for a long time. "I don't even have your name."

"And I don't have yours. But think about it. Even if you were in good condition, you have no idea where you are, and where the town is. Just get a few hours of rest and then you have my word: I'll take you to town. Besides, I've got to talk with someone."

"Who might that be?" Krad asked, boredly, realizing he was on the losing side no matter what he chose to do. Blind and weary, he wouldn't make it far on his own.

"Emiko," was the answer. The man seemed to have a certain fondness in his voice, and Krad pressed the matter no further. He was so very tired... "Then, I'll stay."

"I'd hoped you would. I'd feel guilty if I put you out there all on your own."

"Thank you for your hospitality."

"It's really nothing. Do you need anything?"

Krad shook his head as he felt his way back onto the little bed. He slowly set his head down to rest on the pillow. "I'm fine…"

"If you need anything, just call, then. I'll be in the next room." It was silent for a long moment before Krad heard the footsteps retreat out of the room.

He sighed deeply and tried to calm his mind, determined that the least thing he could do was get some sleep, even if he was in the presence of some still unnamed stranger. What was it about him that seemed so familiar? The man just had such a gentle…aura. Krad couldn't even bring himself to be a bit weary of the stranger. He slept for a good number of hours before he startled himself awake.

--

"Did I wake you?" The man asked, an apology on his lips.

Krad shook his head. "I had a nightmare," the blonde offered. "Lots of ice."

"I'm sorry to hear that."

"It's fine," Krad said, knowing full and well that it wasn't. Apparently the man could tell the same thing, because he hovered nearby for a long moment. It was so strange, Krad thought, that he would have _that_ dream. That dream of ice and death…He was shaken, truly. It had been so long since he'd had a nightmare. Ever since he'd been around Dark…

The blonde sat up. "What time is it?"

"About two o'clock. In the afternoon. You slept all last night and all through the morning. I didn't want to wake you, but I figured it would be best if I'd kept my promise. Did you still want me to take you into town?"

Krad nodded. "If you would, please."

"It's not a problem. Here, I made you something to eat. Finish it and we'll see if we can find your friends."

Krad nodded slightly, reminded of his helplessness when a bowl was placed in one hand and a metallic utensil in the other.

"What is it?" Krad asked, not ungratefully, but curiously.

"It's chicken soup. My wife used to make it for me all the time," the man sighed.

Krad took a hesitant bite, carefully spooning out each bite. "Used to?"

"We were separated a long time ago."

"I'm sorry to hear that," Krad offered. "What happened?"

"I plan to find that out, today."

--

Traveling to town had not been an easy task, and Krad soon felt very sorry for the poor man that was at his side. He'd been leading on him for the past hour, looking for guidance as to where to go.

The man had only cheerfully taken Krad to exactly where he'd wanted to go—the location where the Black Wings had been just the night before. The scent of gunpowder and smoke still lingered in the air, and Krad wrinkled his nose.

"Are your friends looking for you?" The man asked.

"I don't know. I have no idea where they even are…"

"Well, I'll stay with you for a bit in case anyone shows up."

"I appreciate all that you're doing for me," Krad offered. The two men exchanged words for around half an hour before someone called from the distance, "_Krad_."

The voice was familiar, and Krad's gaze shot to the source of the voice.

"Krad?" the man next to him asked.

"That's my name," the blonde said. "Who was that calling me?"

"You've got two boys—a blue haired one and…a redhead, coming your way."

Krad nodded, surprised when the next time his name was spoken, it was much louder. Something collided into his chest a few seconds later, and he nearly lost his balance.

"Krad, thank _God_ you're alive," someone said to him as they wrapped their arms around him. It was Satoshi, Krad realized, and he reached down to embrace the boy.

"You've grown up! I can tell you've gotten taller." Krad said, cheerfully, glad that the bandages around his eyes would conceal his tears. Satoshi wasn't so fortunate, and wiped his eyes on the back of sleeve as he drew away from the blonde.

"Krad, you look horrible. What's wrong with your eyes?" Satoshi asked, and Krad shrugged, his arms still wrapped around the boy.

"My nameless friend over here tells me that I've been temporarily blinded. Where are you?" He called to the man.

"I'm here," the voice said, though it sounded preoccupied.

Daisuke said something, as he scanned over the man next to Krad. "Do I know you?"

The man smiled. "I would hope so, Daisuke."

A look of puzzlement crossed over Daisuke's features, though Satoshi paid little mind. "How are you doing?"

"Satoshi, you worry too much about me. I'm fine. Where is Dark?"

"We've been looking for him since noon. He went back out early this morning to find someone. I think he was looking for you."

Krad swallowed. "Is that so? Where is everyone else from the ship?"

"Emiko and Towa were the only people we've found," Satoshi sniffled, burrowing against Krad. The blonde couldn't suppress his smile.

"They're well?" He asked. The nameless man added, "Do you think you might take us to them?"

Daisuke nodded. "Yeah…I guess. And maybe Dark's gone back, too. It's this way." The boy turned and began walking down one of the cobbled paths. He turned and waited for the others to follow.

"Satoshi, help me," Krad said, leaning against the boy. "Tell me if it's too much."

"You weigh nothing," Satoshi scowled. "I don't mind."

"You're too kind, Satoshi," Krad said. "You don't know how much I've missed you."

"The feeling's mutual, trust me."

--

Daisuke opened the front door of the mansion after knocking. He slipped inside, followed by Satoshi and Krad and then the older man.

Freedert appeared from around a corner. "Daisuke!" she called out. "Your mother's been calling for you for the past hour! She's terribly worried. I think you better go see her."

"My mom's awake," Daisuke said, grinning. "Right."

"Wait," the man said. "Freedert," he said, and the woman turned her gaze to the man, "May I have a word with Emiko, first?"

The girl, wide-eyed, nodded. She was grinning. "Of course. Right this way!" she said, leading the brunette down a hallway.

She knocked on the door to Emiko's room and peaked in. "Emiko, you've got a visitor."

"Is it my Daisuke?" The woman called, frowning when the blonde girl disappeared from view and was replaced with a tall, brown haired male.

Emiko's hazel eyes widened, and tears began to block her vision. "_Kosuke_?"

--

"What's that all about?" Daisuke asked, crossing his arms. "I mean, she's _my_ mom…"

Satoshi shrugged, and Krad leaned away from the younger boy. He gave a quick thanks and Daisuke began to tap his foot impatiently. Elliot appeared a moment later, carrying a tray of foods.

"Daisuke? Did you find Dark?" he asked, pausing in the hallway.

"He hasn't come back yet…?"

Elliot shook his head. "Sorry," he said, tossing an apologetic glance before hurrying away with the tray.

"Oh, man…"

Krad drew in a long breath. "Where do you think he could have gone?"

Daisuke shook his head; a look of dread crossed his features. "I bet I have a good guess…"

_--_

_Owie. My fingers hurt from typing, you guys, so let's all hope that you're pleased with this chapter. This is the second one I've typed up, today, and my hands are so sore…I don't think I'll be writing two chapters in a single day any more…_

_You'll have to forgive me. Oh, wow. I compressed two chapters into one for this chapter, so that it would be nice and long and have a lot of information. Hopefully a few questions have been answered, and in case you have any more—well, here, let me give you a hint: Yes, It was Kosuke taking care of Krad the whole time! Why didn't he say his name? To build up the suspense. Come on, wasn't it fun finding out about Kosuke in the end? Well, maybe it was just fun for me to write it…sorry if it confused or bothered any of you (I know I typed out 'the man' and 'the stranger' a lot, but it couldn't be helped…)_

_Anyway, thanks for reading, and I'll offer another update swift enough…But, as every author/ess says…A review, no matter how long or short it may be, will always spur me to write quicker. Review, please, for me?_


	16. XVI

_**Oceans of the Unforeseen**_

--

_Taking place on the seas of the 18th century, Krad is commander for an elite naval force, while Dark is a well known and popular pirate. What will happen when the two collide and Krad is thrust into the arms of his sworn enemy?_

_--_

_Chapter 16_

--

Daisuke's long face clearly informed Satoshi that his idea of Dark's whereabouts was certainly not going to be a pleasant location. Krad was left with much less information and had taken to standing perfectly still against his young friend.

The redhead mulled over his thoughts, a look of plain concern marring his features. "You see…when we first met Dark, he used to drink a lot. He would hang out with the wrong crowd and do all the wrong sorts of things. He was always out drinking…"

"So you think he's just gone out to drink?" Satoshi questioned. A tavern wouldn't be so bad a place to look…

"Well…yes. But that's just what I think. He had one in particular that he favored s the worst of them, though. Smack dab in the center of the slums; everyone who was anyone, underground, went there. All sorts of villains. It's dangerous, and only someone as notorious as Dark can get away with sticking his head in a place like that…"

"We owe it to him to look, though…" Satoshi said with a slight hesitance in his voice.

Daisuke drew in a deep breath. "Right…I'll take you the—" His mouth remained half open, when he stopped talking. His mother's voice rang out, hurriedly, calling for him.

"Uhm…Well…This might take a while. I'll just tell you where it is…?"

Krad gave a small nod. "Please."

Daisuke hurriedly spewed out the directions to the place, ignoring his mother's frantic cries for the moment. Turning to his mother's room, he added, "Try to stay low…don't let anyone find any weaknesses, or it could be your downfall. There are people that would kill you just for your shoes, so watch out."

Daisuke's back faced the two, and pushed the wooden door open and took a step or two into his mother's room, closing the door softly behind him. Tears streamed down Emiko's face, and his first reaction was to run to her side and ask if she was all right, but the smile spread across her slender face informed him that his mother was well. The man from earlier was sitting in a chair next to Emiko, and a surge of jealousy rushed through him. He blinked, however, and returned his gaze to his mother. "What is it, Mom?"

"Daisuke, honey! Come here, I want you to talk with Kosuke!"

Kosuke? Then…

The older male gave a smile and a quick wave. "Hey, there."

"…_Dad_?"

Emiko gave a cheerful nod. "And Dark? Has he come back? I want him to see your father, too!"

The redhead's shoulders slumped. "We didn't find him. We found Krad, though."

"Oh, thank God! I was so worried!"

"Yeah…he was with…Dad," Daisuke said, awkwardly pausing with the title. He gave Kosuke a look of uncertainty before continuing, "Satoshi and Krad are going to go look for Dark. I think I know where he's been."

"Honey? Where's that? Where do you think he is…?"

"Where he always used to go, remember? The bad side of town. Probably out drinking, or something."

"…Oh. They're going to go look for him?" Daisuke nodded at his mother's question, feeling a bit guilty when she let out a sigh. "But it's so dangerous!"

"They know, mom. I warned them. They still wanted to go, though."

"Oh, dear…Well…there isn't anything we can do, now. Come on, come on! Let's all talk and be a family!" The woman said, cheery once again. She patted the bed next to her. "Come sit down with us, won't you, Daisuke? I'm sure we all have a lot of questions."

Daisuke was hesitant in his steps, though let his stride not show it. He took a seat next to his mother and sat, arms crossed, facing his father. "So…how did you two get separated, again…?"

--

Krad strained to walk without the support of Satoshi, feeling guilty enough as it was with how much of a burden he'd been to the boy, so far. They'd only just reunited, and already each had suffered tremendously.

Silence prevailed as the two made their way down, slowly. Krad focused on the soft cushioning of the lush green grass every time he stepped, and then on the light breeze the ruffled his hair and clothing. It was only when Satoshi spoke, his voice strained, that Krad against rest himself on the boy's shoulder. "What's it like?"

Krad was mute for a long moment. "What is what like, Satoshi?"

The boy hesitated for a moment, and Krad couldn't help the dry grin that spread across his features. Satoshi was too curious to let a question drop, though it was obvious he was mulling over the effect the question may have. For this reason, Krad offered, "Is it my eyesight?"

"…Yes. What is it like being so very helpless in that manner?"

"Irritating."

The lush grass was lost, and Krad felt hard stone underneath his shoes. They were in town? There was a sudden sense of bustling all around the blind blonde, and it became very confusing all at once. Noises from all around assaulted him, and he was forced to pause for a moment to gain his bearings.

Satoshi had been worried, voicing his older friend's name once, though Krad merely shrugged. "Where are we?"

"I dunno. I was just following the directions Daisuke gave us. Another block or two and we should be there. Do you want to stop and rest?"

Arrogant as Krad was, he refused to admit that he would have very much enjoyed taking a few moments to sit down and rest his sore self. He gave a little scoff and urged Satoshi to lead him.

A few moments of silence between the two males; Satoshi wordlessly guided Krad with him, removing the blonde from any obstacles that might otherwise obstruct their path. His steps became slow as the noise from the busy common died away. "We're here. At the place…are you ready, Krad?"

"Always. Lead the way, my little friend."

Satoshi released a little snort and gave Krad a push forward. "Whatever."

The door creaked loudly on it's hinges, and from inside, Krad could make out dull roar of conversation. He stepped inside, Satoshi close at his side. The scent of rich food and cheap alcohol was heavy in the building, and despite the large crowd, it was very cool inside. Krad stiffened a bit and leaned closer to Satoshi. "Do you see him?"

"…No. Wait, yes. He's over in the corner. You want me to take you to him?"

"Satoshi, you ask as if you don't know what the answer is. Of course I want you to take me to him."

"Did I ever ask? Why have you been so intent on finding him, Krad?" Satoshi questioned even as he pulled the blonde over to the pirate captain's table. For a moment he was glad Krad wasn't able to see the crowd they'd been drawn into; he was glad that Krad was immune to the fierce glares and lusty glances.

"You know, I don't know," the blonde replied a good moment later. "I feel like I owe it to him, I guess."

Satoshi let out a sigh. "But he's still your enemy, isn't he?"

"I don't think I could say that…" Krad mumbled, though his words were lost in a sudden uproar on the far side of the dingy little place. Satoshi didn't press for a repeat of the blonde's statement; he was fairly sure he knew the answer already. He released Krad's arm when the two stood right in front of Dark's table. The blonde was slightly unsteady from the sudden halt and reached out to clasp onto the table as he balanced himself out.

The pale hands suddenly entered Dark's vision and he glanced up from the mug in front of him. He held a blank look for the longest moment before his eyes lit up with recognition. "Krad!" He exclaimed with a sloppy grin. "Is this another dream?"

The blonde paused for a moment. "What?"

"It is, isn't it?" Dark said, suddenly looking very worn. "I've been dreaming a lot about you, lately."

Krad ignored the snicker from the boy at his side. "Is that so?"

"…Hey, have a seat! Both of you. I'll order us some drinks!" Dark slammed his fist on the table, upsetting the half-empty mug on the table already.

"No, Dark. No," Krad said, quickly, "We don't want to drink. We want to leave."

"Leave?" Dark rolled his eyes and let out a rather ridiculous curse. "Why would you want to _leave_?"

"Because Daisuke is _very_ worried about you. And I have been, too."

Dark tapped the table for a long moment. "So? I can't go back and face them, Krad. Not without you."

"Well, then, I'll go with you. How's that sound?"

"Krad, you know that's ridiculous. Your dead."

"I'm not dead, Dark. Let's go."

"I don't want to go."

Satoshi let his gaze slide from that of the drunken pirate to the pallid features of his best friend. The blonde was agitated, taking deep breaths and allowing his fingers to twitch slightly at his side.

"You _have_ to go. You have to come with us."

"Krad," Dark paused, taking a swig out of his mug, "What happened to your _face_? Why are you wearing those ridiculous things around your eyes? Take them off, I want to see you eyes…"

"No. I can't take them off, Dark. Let's _go_."

"Blondie, let me see your eyes…"

If Krad had been agitated before, Satoshi didn't know what to say the state of the male was, now. He didn't have time to make a clear enough observation before Dark struggled up out of his seat and made a crooked lurch at the blonde, who was completely caught off guard. Instantly, the blonde found himself pressed against the stiff wall, pinned and confused as Dark shakily tugged at the cotton wraps around his eyes.

"Dark—_stop_ it!" He hissed, though when Dark made no effort to stop his actions, he called for Satoshi. What else could the boy do but shove himself violently into Dark's side, leaving Krad free to rewrap what bandages had been displaced. Dark stumbled to his feet, muttering, "You little _brat_!" and made a lurch at Satoshi.

Fortunate for each, Krad was able to intercept, though without his sight, Satoshi was more astonished than relieved. Dark, caught in the blonde's arms, buried his face in the other's chest. "…You're warm."

"Better than cold. Dark, you're freezing! How long have you been here?"

"…Can't remember."

"Dark," Krad said, struggling with the pirate's weight, "Can we leave?"

Dark paused, then, "You're warm…? …You're not a dream?"

"I told you I wasn't! Why don't you ever listen to me?"

Dark's face lifted brightly as he stood up and peered closely at the blonde's face. "You're real!"

"Very much so. And I am very much leaving _right_ now. Are you coming, or not?"

"I thought you were dead, Krad!"

"…I'm taking that as a yes. Satoshi?"

The boy approached Krad. "What is it?"

"Can you help me?"

"Always," came the simple reply as Satoshi reached out again for the taller male's arm. With a slight effort, he managed to lead Krad out of the shabby tavern and into the even shabbier alleyway it had been located in.

"I want to hurry, Satoshi," Krad offered, very well aware that while Satoshi had a good reason to be latched to his arm, Dark did not. He adjusted his would-be gaze to the thief at his left as Satoshi began to lead them away and said, "Why are you holding onto me?"

"I don't want you to go," Was the first thing Dark had muttered, before adding, "…And I think if I don't, I'll fall down."

--

Satoshi stumbled in through the doorway of the mansion, panting only slightly less than the blonde behind him, who had somehow managed to go from simply dragging Dark behind him to carrying the other male on his back somewhere along the trip home. Freedert stared at the three, her eyes glittering with unshed tears. "You found him?"

"Get him _off_ my back!" Krad had snarled.

Satoshi rolled his eyes, a smile playing on his thin lips. "Just drop him, Krad."

"You must be _joking, _Satoshi!" Krad hissed through long gasps for breaths.

"He's sleeping."

"He's got a grip like death. I tried to shake him off earlier…"

Freedert let out a giggle. "Would you like to rest? You both look exhausted." The girl's nose wrinkled in disgust as she approached the males. "And Dark absolutely _stinks_."

"He was drinking," Satoshi explained, and Freedert gave a knowing nod. "Come on, Krad, can you carry him to one of our rooms?"

Despite the blonde's sulking position, he gave a nod. "Just help me get there…"

In a few moments, Dark had been pried off the blonde and was resting comfortably in a set of beds in a room right down the hall from Emiko. Krad had slipped into the other bed in the room, not wanting to burden Freedert with setting up another room and finding the company of Dark's less than social form very soothing.

For several hours they each slept, unaware of the thrills their presence brought to both the Niwa family and to the now bustling Towa. Only shortly before dinner were the two awakened by the cheerful woman, who left shortly after to finish helping with the meal.

Dark sat up a long moment after the woman left, looking around blankly. "And where am I?"

"Freedert's, Dark. Towa just told you. Weren't you listening to her?" Stated a still agitated blonde, who wearily rose.

"Krad!"

"…What?"

"You're alive!"

"…Dark, we've gone over this."

Dark paused for a moment. "Have we?"

"You don't remember? You were drinking."

"Was I? I was," Dark admitted. "What's wrong with your eyes, Krad?"

"We went over this, too. On the way from the tavern back here."

"I don't remember. Tell me again?"

Krad released an exasperated sigh. "The explosion has left me temporarily blind. Freedert gave me an examination just a little while ago, while you were still sleeping."

"That's great! Not that you're blind, but that you're going to be okay!"

"…Yeah. You know that it's your fault that I can't see, right?"

"What? How is it my fault?"

Krad paused. "You're not still mad at me, are you?"

"Mad at you? Why would I be mad at you?

"You yelled at me. And locked me in my room. You _do_ remember that, don't you?"

Judging from the silence that suddenly spread throughout the room, Krad could certainly tell that Dark did remember.

"You ran," the male said, his voice suddenly cold…suddenly hurt.

"Will you let me explain, now?"

Dark didn't answer, so Krad took the new silence as an opportunity to clear himself of any false crimes. Rapidly, he explained how he had very clearly seen his ship, and how, overcome with a need to check on Satoshi, he had bolted without thinking.

"But why didn't you stop when I told you to, Krad? I wouldn't have gotten mad if you'd just _told_ me!" Dark had said, his anger rising a bit.

"I couldn't stop!" Krad defended, "It was like I was possessed…I tried. I really _did_, but I just wanted to get to him…"

Dark shifted on his bed, and for a moment, Krad was convinced that Dark was going to try and again berate him for dashing, but the captain only sighed and said, "I understand. I would have done the same thing, I guess. I'm sorry…that I got so mad. It's just…I really did think that you…were playing me as a fool."

"I wouldn't do that."

"Yeah, but I thought you _did_. And it was just impulse from there. If it's one thing I hate, it's liars. I'm a pirate. I steal, but I don't _lie_. You lying to me…that just pissed me off. I didn't want to think that you'd betray me, so I'm sorry. I was wrong."

"It was a misunderstanding. It wasn't anyone's fault."

"But I did overreact…and it's true—you _did_ lose your sight because of me. It _is_ my fault."

"Shut up, Dark. You didn't blow up the ship, Kei did. It's _his_ fault."

"…I guess."

"Good. And—"

The door to the room slammed open, and though Krad couldn't see, he felt his face instinctively turn to the figure in the doorframe.

"Krad," came a voice that he immediately recognized as Satoshi's, "We need to talk."

"What's the matter?"

"Kei's gone."

Krad leaned forward a bit, resting his elbows on his knees. "That's a problem?"

"Only if you're concerned about him finding _that_."

Krad' face grew solemn. "Then he knows…about it?"

"He knows. He knows, because he's got his hands on the map. He _stole_ it and had one of the cartographers make a copy. I got the necklace back, though, it's right here in my pocket…"

A swear fell from Krad's lips. "When did he leave?"

"I asked around. He left this morning with a different ship. Some 'elite' ship that the government handed him."

"Then where is _my_ ship?" the blonde asked.

"Still in the docks. Apparently someone's bought it. Some merchant or something. They didn't give me the details."

The blonde was silent for a long moment before he rose. "I won't let them have it."

"Krad, what are you going to do—they're not going to just hand over a ship like that!"

"I don't intend to give them a choice. I'm taking my ship back, whether they like it or not."

Dark let out a wry grin, and in an almost mocking voice stated, "But _Krad_. That's _piracy_."

"I will _not_ let Kei get his hands on such a valuable artifact!"

"So you'd become a _pirate_. You know you could never return to the _navy_ if you became a pirate, Krad," Dark taunted.

Krad's voice was bitter, "You seem to be enjoying yourself, Dark Mousy."

"Maybe just a little," the pirate admitted, "But I can't help it. You sure you've got being a pirate in you?"

"Did you forget that my mother was a pirate, Dark? Piracy runs in my veins, loathe as I am to admit it."

"Fair enough, I guess. When do we leave?"

"I was told that the new owner's going to arrive later this week. It could be today, it could be tomorrow…if you want your ship back, Krad, you're going to need to get it as quick as possible, just in case."

"Then, tonight, Dark, we'll leave. Can you get your crew together by then?" Krad asked, relieved when Dark gave a positive response.

"Right. Satoshi, check with Daisuke and Emiko. See if they're going to join us."

"I hope you know what you're doing, Krad," the boy said as he gave a nod and exited the room.

Dark chuckled. "_I_ hope you know what you're doing, Blondie. You're in for one hell of a ride."

--

_Whoo. I must be the laziest author here, eh? I'm so lazy when it comes to updating…But at least I didn't forget, right? I've been hesitant with updating this story ever since I ended Secrets Held Within…When you finish writing a story, there's a big empty GAP in your life, if you know what I mean…I've really loved writing Oceans of the Unforeseen, so it will be very sad when I end it—which will be…Very soon. I might call this chapter the 'Prequel to the End'. You know what that means, friends…this story is coming to an end. Prepare to say your final goodbyes…because not everyone's going to make it out of this ordeal unscathed._


	17. XVII

_**Oceans of the Unforeseen**_

--

_Taking place on the seas of the 18th century, Krad is commander for an elite naval force, while Dark is a well known and popular pirate. What will happen when the two collide and Krad is thrust into the arms of his sworn enemy?_

_--_

_Chapter 17_

--

Thirty men were all Dark had, and thirty men were all he needed. The sun had set a few hours ago—a few agonizingly _long_ hours ago, and the group had just begun to swarm the _Archaic Light_. Satoshi had scouted it out, watched the docks and observe the comings and goings. Apparently there was only one man keeping watch over the ships, and he was a horrible drunk. After all, who would want to steal a ship from this dump? Few came here, and even fewer left.

Oh, well. His mistake was their gain.

Daisuke walked quietly next to Dark, who was both supporting and leading Krad. Hardly any words had been spoken since they'd parted with Freedert and Elliot. Emiko had been left behind, and this was certainly a loss that everyone could feel in their hearts.

Dark had grown up with the woman—Daisuke had hardly spent a day in his life without here there. Without her on the ship, something would be missing.

"At least she won't be lonely," Dark assured the redheaded boy, knowing just what he was thinking.

"She's with my father. I don't even know him," Daisuke responded a bit dejectedly.

"But you will. We've just gotta do this one last thing. Emiko will be better when we get back, and Kosuke will wait for you this time. Then we'll all be one big happy family. And you, too, Krad, right? You'll be part of our happy family."

The blonde had said little after he finally realized that he was throwing away his whole life just to stop the monster he'd released. He didn't respond at first, and seemed perhaps to be a bit dazed. It was only when Dark stopped walking did Krad cock his head over towards where he knew the other stood. His eyes were bandaged and his hair tied up again; he was wearing borrowed clothes from Elliot that very much lacked the elegant ensemble he'd first been wearing when this all started. The shirt was a light brown, a bit small but still fitting, that did just enough to keep him warm in the chilly night. Pants were black, as was the overcoat he donned—not that it mattered if they matched or not.

"You said something?" he asked, his lost expression fitting certainly with his even more lost voice.

"Yeah. You're gonna be staying with us from now on, right?"

Krad glanced ahead and began walking, not liking how he could feel Dark's scrutinizing eyes boring through him. "I thought we had a deal. I was leaving after we got Satoshi back. And you promised to drop us off."

"You said you were stealing a ship, Krad. They won't want you back," Dark said insistently.

"They won't know it was me. I'll say it was you."

"Krad, that'd make you a _liar_, too. That's no good," Dark said as he caught up to Krad who, sightless as he was, seemed to be doing fine without Dark's guiding hand. The pirate captain didn't like that; he wanted to feel like he was needed.

"What do you care? Just drop it, Dark. I'm not in the mood."

Dark rolled his eyes. "Whatever, Blondie."

He glanced around, then, at his crew, glad that most of them had been out drinking and were safe from harm. Every single one of them was loaded with cargo—some carried barrels, some crates. Some just held canvas backs filled to the rim with fresh supplies. A grin spread on his features; they'd all come back—all save for two.

Two deaths from the explosion. Two men that would never be forgotten. Two men that would be revenged.

Dark would see to it that Kei suffered. If not for himself and the loss of his ship, if not for Krad, if not for Emiko, then certainly for _them_.

Satoshi was waiting in the harbor by the _Archaic Light_, his arms crossed before him. He'd kept a keen eye out in the darkness for any sign of trouble so that he could warn Dark and his crew beforehand, but so far everything was smooth. No guards, no visitors—no _birds_, even. A light outside a small stone building illuminated enough of the dirt road that Satoshi could tell when the group was nearing. They came in sets of less than five; the first four men were carrying crates. The next group ammunition. Daisuke, Dark and Krad were the next group, walking just a bit away from the train; they were moving slower, probably because of Krad's handicap.

A bell rang in the distance, causing Satoshi to jump. He was so paranoid…luckily for him, though, the tolling ceased and all proceeded as planned. The crew made it onto the boat silently; Dark waited for Krad, who waited for Satoshi, who was insistent that everyone else go first.

It was too perfect. Too easy. They were out of the dock within half an hour and no one had even noticed their departure. It was _far_ too easy, Dark concluded with a grin as he ran his fingers over the finely crafted helm. As he had been for the last few hours, Krad sat on a crate next to Dark, glaring at him every so often. He had made sure that Dark, who had proclaimed himself the new captain of the ship, knew just how much the extent of Krad's current disdain for him was.

"Nice little boatie. Not as good as mine, but good enough," Dark commented into the silence.

"Don't insult her," Krad snapped. "She's done me well."

"Bad mood, aren't we?" Dark said, jeeringly.

"It's _my_ ship. You shouldn't be captaining it."

"Well, _sorry_. It's not _my_ fault I can see," Dark said, glancing over to the blonde to watch his reaction. Surprisingly, there wasn't one. Krad's jaw clenched and he looked away, turning his face into the breeze.

Dark was, momentarily, out of words. Should he feel guilty? "…Sorry."

"For what, _Dark_?" Krad said.

"I don't know."

Krad scoffed. "Don't talk to me."

"Geez, what's your _problem_, today?" Dark shot back, glaring at the blonde. "You've been in such a bitchy mood since we left Freedert's."

"I think my problem is that I can't _see_ anything and it has to be _you_ that's in charge. I don't take orders from you, not on _my _ship!"

"You want it so bad? You really want to be in charge?" Dark stepped away from the helm, making sure to make as much noise as he could. "Go ahead. Really. Just sail us, right now, to that little island in the middle of nowhere."

"Dark…"

"No, really. You wanted it so bad. You can do it, now. I'm done playing captain."

Too bad for Krad that he couldn't see Dark's wild gestures as he spoke.

"That isn't what I meant," the blonde said bitterly. "And you _know_ it."

"Really? Because it sounded to me like you were complaining because I'm _steering_ your ship. Real big thing to be pissed off about, isn't it?"

"I'm just upset. Stop yelling at me."

"What's so upsetting?" Dark asked, still using an angry tone. If Krad could have seen, then he certainly wouldn't have missed the wide smile still plastered on the Dark's face.

"Something's just wrong."

"Something? Something like what?"

"What are we doing after this? What do we do when we get the Koku Yoku?" Krad questioned.

"Well, we break it. You know that; you were the one that told us what we had to do."

"But what if I was wrong? I don't know hardly anything about it."

Dark's angry tone sort of died away; he hadn't been too intent on keeping up the façade, anyway. He walked back to the helm and, when content that they were sailing at the right bearing—according to the little map he'd been supplied with by Satoshi, he moved to sit next to Krad. "You know more about it than anyone else. No one's going to blame you if you're wrong. We're just going to do what we can, and if we can't destroy it before Kei gets his hands on it, well…we'll just have to figure something else out. Everything'll work out."

"You're so optimistic," Krad pointed out, dully.

"You're so pessimistic."

"Something's going to go wrong."

"What makes you say that?"

Krad shrugged. "It's just a feeling I have. In my gut."

"You think something's going to happen to you?" Dark asked, glancing away from Krad and across the sea. Nothing was in the distance; the only sight to behold was the moon in the sky and the little burst of light supplied across the crest of every new wave that reflected its beauty.

"I don't know."

"Well, don't worry, Kraddie. I won't let anything happen to you. I'll protect you."

"Don't make promises you can't keep, Dark Mousy."

Dark's eyes slowly drifted back to Krad. "Who says I can't keep that promise? I won't let you get hurt."

"That's a dumb promise. What are you going to do, stand by my side forever and make sure nothing happens?"

Dark nodded, forgetting again that Krad couldn't see him. "Yeah, if that's what it takes."

"…We all have to die, you know,"

"So?"

Krad didn't entirely know what he was trying to say, so he rose and walked across the ship's deck. Dark jumped up after him. "Hey, wait—Krad. Don't you need help?"

Krad never stopped walked and pulled his arm way from Dark when the other grabbed it. It didn't matter that the action was only meant to help Krad; he was still bitter. "No. This is my home; I know how to get from one place to another. I don't need my eyesight for that."

Dark's hand fell to his side as he watched Krad retreat. "Look…uh…sleep well?"

"Whatever. You should get some sleep, yourself."

"I will—later."

Krad placed his hand on the railing as he walked downstairs once he'd gotten used to the gentle rocking of the boat. He counted footsteps until he reached where he knew the door to his room would be and opened it up. He made his way to the location of his bed, unaware that Satoshi had crawled in it sometime earlier that night. For that, he gave a bit of a cry when his fingers brushed against warm skin; he retracted them instantly.

Satoshi had barely been asleep; he yawned and sat up, groggily. "What?"

"Satoshi? What are you doing in my bed?" Krad asked, just a little confused.

"Missed you," was the toneless response.

"Oh. Were you planning on going back to your own bed?"

"No."

"Then…scoot over, Satoshi. I can't see where you are."

Satoshi lay back down and rolled over, giving Krad enough room to lie down and not be crowded. The blonde allowed a weary smile to cross his features as he lay gently down on his own half of the bed and drew the sheets up to his chest. "Goodnight, Satoshi."

"'Night."

Krad, despite being back with Satoshi or Dark, dreamt of ice.

--

_Ha ha. You probably all thought I died. Truth be told? I sorta did. Sorry it took me so long, I was just in a rut. You know, I just…didn't have any urge to update. But…I'm typing up the last of the chapters for all my stories, now, so you'll get a new update every few days. Sorry it took me so long…I know most of the people that read this story probably don't anymore, so…yeah. Super sorry for those of you that have to go back and reread all that's going on because it's been so long and you now have no idea what's going on._

_…don't feel bad. I had to do the same thing._

_Anyway, it turns out that this is more of a filler chapter than anything—just used to progress the story a little bit. Last chapter of the story is coming up soon…hope you're ready._


	18. XVIII

_**Oceans of the Unforeseen**_

_Taking place on the seas of the 18th century, Krad is commander for an elite naval force, while Dark is a well-known and popular pirate. What will happen when the two collide and Krad is thrust into the arms of his sworn enemy?_

_Chapter 18_

It might have been two days, it might have been twenty; no one had been keeping count. Supplies were still high, and the crew was restless, but still in good spirits. Weather had been nice, save for one late night storm. Krad's vision had slowly been returning. He wouldn't stay outside in the sun for very long, but it seemed that he'd made nearly a full recovery by the time the first patch of land came into view.

Dark had cheered when he saw it; Krad had only grimaced.

A telescope was pressed firmly to Dark's eye; he scanned the coasts of the land. "There aren't any other ships. It looks like we made it here before him."

"We don't know that. Maybe he's already been here. Maybe he's unlocked the power and is already wreaking havoc," Krad said, hunched over on the railing of his ship. His eyes were narrowed as he scanned the horizon, paranoia and anxiety at its peak. He'd been withdrawn for the past few days; it was only after the storm that he came out of his room and was back on deck, barking orders despite the fact that Dark wouldn't give him back his ship.

"Bah. We would have heard about that by now, don't you think?" Dark asked, setting the telescope down. Both his hands rested on the helm of the ship as he steered; there was about another hour before they reached the green island. It was surprisingly more pleasant than he'd expected—for holding on it something of such dark power as the Koku Yoku.

The blue sky was tinged with the gray of rain clouds, and birds could be seen flocking over the luscious land. Trees reigned tall, and a sandy beach was visible right before them. Sharp, jagged rocks pierced the eastern side of the island and waves crashed viciously against them.

"A little hard to hear about things when you're in the middle of an ocean, no?" Krad said, his eyes closed for the moment."

"You know what I meant. Hey. You see that cove? The sandy part. We'll go in there. That sound good?"

"Are you sure this is the right island, even?"

"I followed every little instruction on this little map!" Dark said, "so, yes, I'm sure this is the right island."

"Oh. Fine. It sounds fine."

"You excited?"

Krad shrugged. "No."

"Well, I am."

Krad didn't respond; his eyes were glued to a single black speck in the distance. He couldn't tell if it was a ship or not. It must have been a bird, he concluded, when his eyes suddenly began to throb. He snapped them shut and listened to the soothing sounds of the ocean beat against his ship as they grew ever closer to their final destination.

"Whoa. Totally feels wrong to be on land again," Dark said when he took his first steps onto the sandy beach. He looked a little unsteady at first, though quickly adjusted. Or, maybe he was just moving so fast that no one could catch just how unstable he really was.

"We weren't even out there for that long, Dark," Daisuke pointed out as he stepped out of the little rowboat he, Dark, Satoshi, and Krad had all taken to get closer to the island.

"So? It was enough. Come on, let's hurry! I want to see this thing," Dark said, his hand resting on his pistol as he spun to watch Satoshi and Krad make their way out of the boat.

The blue haired boy and Krad ended up being the ones to drag the ship up the beach to avoid it drifting out; Daisuke was too busy trying to calm an overexcited Dark to be of any assistance.

"Can we go, now?" he questioned after the two had tied a rope from a knob on the boat to a sturdy looking palm tree.

Krad stood up and brushed off his hands. "You still have the pendant, Satoshi?"

The boy nodded and held up the wing-shaped medallion with the tiny map in scripted on the back. "Of course."

"How you managed to get us anywhere with a map that small," Daisuke said to Dark, "is a complete mystery."

"I'm Dark Mousy, Daisuke. What did you expect? I can do anything."

Krad rolled his eyes; his entire outfit was soaked with seawater. He hated the stick feeling of it, and the weight of it only served to shorten the rest of his nerves. He walked up the beach enough to where the sand began to turn to dirt, and the trees became taller and grew more closely together. "Let's get this over with."

His three comrades were right behind him as they began down the dark, winding path.

Thunder crackled in the distance, and Dark swore. "Shit. We really need to hurry up. If we don't get back down to shore before it starts raining, we'll have to stay here until it lets up. We'll never make it back to your ship with that little thing in bad weather."

Krad nodded, understanding completely. "I know. We're almost there," he said, though he really had no idea how much farther until they found the wretched Koku Yoku. Despite the walk through the very tropical forest and the hike up the jagged cliffs he hadn't even noticed from when they first landed at the beach, his heart was pounding more from anxiety than the workout.

"Oh. Okay," Dark said. He had taken the lead and was trudging up the treacherous, winding paths along the cliffs edge, now. They could only be a short while from the summit—maybe ten more minutes, if they hurried. Daisuke gave a grunt of irritation as he nearly tripped over a rock he hadn't seen—Satoshi caught him before he stumbled and the two moved on as if nothing had happened.

It took them only half of what they expected to reach the summit, which wasn't sharp or jagged, but instead leveled off.

The sight of a gigantic black statue, carved of the darkest and most expensive looking marble loomed just above them; the winding path having led up to a flat plateau.

Dark released a whistle when his eyes fell upon the wretched thing. He was so busy staring at the grotesque statue that he didn't notice that just across the island, almost exactly across from where the Archaic Light remained, waiting for its captain and his little party to return, was a much larger ship.

No one else seemed to notice, either. They were all staring at the enormous figure and approached it with caution, careful to stay as near to the center of the plateau as possible. It was a good many yards across, and there was plenty of room to walk about, but something about how the edges of the plateau just fell off into nothing was a little discouraging. These men were seafarers, not rock climbers.

"Wow. It's ugly and huge," Dark observed when he neared the thing enough to touch it.

"How'd it even get up here?" Daisuke asked, not far behind.

"Dunno. How did it get up here, Krad?"

The blonde shrugged; he and Satoshi again were the last two to arrive. "I don't know."

Silence fell across the four. Krad spoke again a long moment later. "I'm amazed that it's actually here."

"I'm amazed that Dark managed to get us here," Daisuke teased.

"Shut up," Dark said, giving the boy a playful shove before turning his attention back to the horrible sight before him. As eerie and wicked as it was, the more he looked at it, the more he liked it. "So. How do we do this?"

"Break it," Krad said, rolling his eyes.

"…Right. Good idea, but…how? I think it's just a little too big to smash into a bunch of pieces," Dark said, cocking his head just a little bit to regard Krad with a very stupid expression.

"I don't know," Krad admitted, finally, being daunted by the size of the monument. He craned his neck upwards to see the top of it, though quickly tore his gaze away from the horror-struck face of the skull.

Dark sighed, returning to look at the thing. "Is it really as powerful as you say?"

"More so, I think," Krad responded quietly. "Satoshi, what are you doing?

The blue haired boy paused, having just knelt next to the base of the giant work of art. "There's an inscription here. Come, I can't read it."

"Let me do it," Dark said; Satoshi rose and backed away to stand in a crescent cluster around Dark with Krad and Daisuke.

"Let's see. It says…oh, crap. There's some big words. Let's see…it says…well, it just says it needs a key. There's a little…hole. Kind of round. It's just an indent, really. Very small. It looks kind of like… a wing? Yeah. A wing."

"Kind of like…this?" Satoshi asked, holding out Krad's pendant.

Dark glanced over his shoulder; his face paled and he simply froze.

Daisuke looked a little worried. "Dark? What is it?"

A gun clicked behind him; he didn't need to have his question answered. Slowly, all three turned to regard a very familiar brunette grinning wickedly. "Now, now. Isn't this cliché?"

"What the hell?" Dark said; he moved to get up, but Kei waved the gun at him, and he remained half squatting next to the inscription.

"I was sure I'd killed you; all of you. But you, Satoshi? Running away from me like that; I should have known," Kei said, his smile turning into something much more sinister. "Throw your pistol down in front of me, Dark."

Dark shook his head. "No."

"Do it or I swear to God, you and your friends will no pain like no other."

Dark swore under his breath and pulled out the pistol in his hand. Even if he was able to aim it at Kei, the other male would have plenty of time to put a bullet right through Satoshi's head. It wasn't a risk he was willing to take; he threw his beloved pistol a foot or two away from Kei.

"Very good," the older man said. "Now, Satoshi? Give it to me."

Satoshi swallowed as he met Kei Hiwatari's cold eyes. "Give what to you?" he asked in a voice he hardly recognized as his own.

"The key you were just talking about. Hand it over, now. I want you to come forward and put it in my hand. If you so much as breathe wrong, I'll kill you all, right here and now."

Satoshi swallowed and cast a hesitant look towards the necklace in his hand.

Krad, next to him, hissed, "Give it to me."

Satoshi's gaze shot over to Krad. He tried to read Krad's expression but, getting nothing, he handed the thing over.

"Krad. Bring it to me," Kei hissed, not liking Satoshi having just deliberately disobeyed him.

Krad was rolling the little ivory pendant over his fingertips. He didn't look at Kei when he spoke, "Do you really want it?"

"You know damn well that I do," Kei hissed. "Give it to me!"

Krad released a soft chuckle that was as sad as it was spiteful. "Go get it," he said before he tossed it over the edge of the plateau, where it no doubt would be lost from Kei for the time being. The man wasn't stupid enough to go after it right now, but he just might be smart enough to kill them all now and go after it later.

Kei's gaze followed the little ornament as it flew over the edge; it gave Dark just enough time to barrel past Krad and Satoshi and tackle Kei before the other male could gather what was going on. The gun, once aimed to shoot Krad in the head, fired. The bullet somehow managed to graze only Krad's neck; he felt only a second of sharp stinging.

Krad raised his hand to his neck, stifling a gasp at the sudden pain. It was gone almost as quickly as it had come; the only sign that he'd even been hit was the thin line of blood trickling down his pale skin.

A struggle ensued, Dark was more concerned with landing as many hits onto Kei's body as he possibly could; Kei just grappled for the gun. For a moment, it was as if time stood still for the three not engaged in battle. Krad was the first to gather his wits about him; he moved quickly to the loaded gun Dark had thrown and lifted the thing up. Harshly, he called its owner's name.

The fighting seemed to stop instantly; Kei sported a busted lip and a bleeding nose, and Dark was sitting atop him, more than prepared to land another blow. Each glanced up at Krad, who aimed the gun right into Kei Hiwatari's face. "Dark, move. Now."

Dark did so, lifting Kei up by the collar with him, only to throw him back down the ground. He backed up just a bit to stand next to Daisuke, watching Krad intently to see what the other would do. Would he kill Kei, just like that? Right then and there?

Kei tried to get up, though Krad warned him against it. "Don't move. Give me one good reason why I shouldn't blow off your head."

Kei stared up at Krad from the ground. "In front of the children?" he asked with mock horror. "You wouldn't do that."

"Try me."

"I might," Kei said. "But we both know you wouldn't."

"You don't know what I'm capable of," Krad said, his eyes narrowing as he was filled with disgust. Just seeing Kei made his blood boil. Actually talking to him was so much worse.

Kei just looked horrified, more than afraid that Krad really was going to shoot him, regardless of who was there to witness it. "Amazing, isn't it? Two shots you've fired at me, and you still haven't managed to kill me. You do realize that I'll only need one, don't you?"

Kei's eyes widened. "No. No. Don't do it," he hissed. "Don't you dare kill me. Not now; not like this."

"Are you in any position to be giving orders?" Dark called, a dry smile forming on his features.

"Just…just stop. Let me explain," Kei said hurriedly. "I never meant to hurt you. Really, I just…I just needed to…get…"

Krad rolled his eyes. "Just shut up. No matter what you say, I won't believe a word of it. You wanted to kill me. You just failed."

"Yes. Yes, that's right. Please, Krad, I'm sorry. I'll do anything!" Kei said in his most convincingly pleading voice. It was almost like he really meant it.

Krad's gaze only narrowed; Kei was sure the shot to end his life would be fired any second, now. Then, to his surprise—and everyone else's—after what seemed like forever, Krad lowered his gun just a bit.

The blonde spoke harshly. "I'm not a monster like you. I wouldn't attack someone who was completely defenseless. We'll settle this in a different way. I want you tried and imprison. You won't have a quick death; I want you to rot away."

A sudden burst of lighting flashed in the sky, and Krad winced; he'd been staring right at it. His eyes were too sensitive, and he instantly recoiled and shielded his face, turning his body just a bit in an unconscious reaction to block out the rest of the light.

And then it happened.

It was just like when they'd first met.

Krad let his guard down, if only for just a moment, and Kei was there behind him with a gun that had gone unnoticed before drawn and pointed right at the blonde's heart.

Kei's voice; "Third time's the charm.."

Thunder cracked, and the gun was fired.

It was just as deafening the second time around. Kei's smile was the same. Satoshi's horror struck face was the same. Krad collapsing to the ground, bleeding furiously—it was the same.

Everything was the same, except…this time?

This time Emiko wasn't there to save him.

* * *

_Nice, right? God, it's pretty late when I'm writing this, but I just can't stop. Did this chapter seem just a wee bit rushed? If so…sorry. I really hope you all know that this is killing me…this was my baby for the longest time, and now? Now my baby…now it's ending. You'll get an epilogue…soon. But then that's it! …No more. It makes me a little sad. I bet you're DYING to know what happens, no? All this suspense, it's just KILLING you. I bet I've made your BLOOD RUN COLD with all this drama, no?_

_Well…yeah, whatever. You all saw it coming, anyway._

_I really would love some reviews…they might help me get through these tough times. I hate when I have to end things…it always makes me so sad inside._

_Epilogue will be up soon...you'll find out just what happens! And, since I have so many readers--some of which are pro Dark/Krad and some that are anti Dark/Krad, I'll give you two different endings, so that both groups are happy. Sound fair? It's my way of making up to you the fact that I took so long to update..._


	19. XIX

_**Oceans of the Unforeseen**_

_Taking place on the seas of the 18th century, Krad is commander for an elite naval force, while Dark is a well-known and popular pirate. What will happen when the two collide and Krad is thrust into the arms of his sworn enemy?_

_Chapter 19_

_--_

The thunder was deafening, and Dark knew it was foolish—so very stupid—to still be standing where he was, so high up. The air itself seemed to be heated and crackling, but the rain that poured was just freezing. Everything seemed to be in order, but he knew nothing was every going to be just right, again.

He was covered in blood, none of it his own, and soaked practically to the bone. Satoshi and Daisuke had long since shed their tears of grief, and he'd sent them down to the tiny rowboat they'd left on shore. It wouldn't do to have them here; they'd already said goodbye. It seemed so easy for both of them—Dark didn't even know what to say.

Krad sank down to the ground, clutching his chest. He looked so frightened for a split second, but took every effort to collect himself as he collapsed backwards. The gun he'd held dropped to his side, and Daisuke and Satoshi had darted next to him.

_Kei scrambled to his feet, trying to flee, but Dark was on him in a minute. He showed no mercy, this time around, and sent a punch to the jaw that, upon impact, created a cracking sound. No doubt Kei had a broken jaw; he cried out in pain, but Dark wasn't done. He fought on, pummeling the other with blows, being unable to calm this sudden lust for blood, though only when he'd heard Krad give a sharp cry from a few yards away did his temper ebb. He kicked Kei when he rose—another loud crack from the brunette's leg._

_Dark ran and then knelt next to his fellow captain. "Hey," he said, though couldn't bring anything else to mind._

"_Krad," Satoshi said, looking down at Krad. He was kneeling next to the other's head, Daisuke at his side. "You're bleeding. A lot."_

_The blonde's eyes were sealed shut; he nodded just a bit._

"_Can you get up?" Satoshi asked._

_Krad coughed and seemed to try to force himself up. He fell back before he'd lifted himself even a few inches off the ground._

_Daisuke had tears in his eyes; he was pale at the sight of Krad's blood. It wasn't a small amount—not like the little specks of blood one would expect to receive from an accident—it was draining out in massive quantities. He didn't know if he should stay kneeling and risk getting the blood on him, or stand up and walk a few steps away. Something about the thought of Krad's blood touching him…_

_The redhead shuddered at the thought and was barely able to keep his eyes on Dark as the older male removed his coat and applied pressure onto Krad's chest in an effort to staunch the blood flow._

"_Try again," Satoshi begged—demanded. He sounded so desperate._

_For him, Krad tried again._

_He couldn't get up._

"_He has to get to someone who can get that bullet out and sew him up," Satoshi said to Dark. "We have to get back to the ship."_

"_Why?" Dark asked through gritted teeth; he'd been thinking the same thing, though had already realized something Satoshi had. "Our medic is back at Azumano. The trip back to the ship is too long. He's not going to make it, even if we all help carry him. Even if we __**run**__, there's no way…there's…"_

"…_He's not going to make it…?" Daisuke asked tentatively._

"_Don't __**talk**__ about me like I'm not here," Krad said, clutching at his chest with every ounce of strength that he had. His lips were cracked and bleeding; he must have accidentally bit and drawn blood._

"_Krad, you're going to…to be fine. Really," Satoshi said, sounding more hopeful than confidant._

"_Don't be stupid," was the harsh response Dark had to give in reply._

_Blood pumped forth, still, and Krad grew paler by the moment. He kept trying to form words, but they always seemed to die just as he had them on his lips. He was out of breath, taking long, slow gasps every few seconds. Coldness was sinking in, and Krad thought of ice for a short few seconds until a hand on his cheek brought him back to reality._

"_Don't do that," Dark warned; it had been his hand._

"_What?" Krad asked, his breath harsh and ragged._

"_Don't stare off into space. You looked like you were gonna leave us," Dark said._

_Krad couldn't help but wonder at the expression the pirate wore, which seemed to be a mixture of fear and anger. Like it had been __**his **__fault he'd been shot. _

_The blonde mustered a scoff at that. "It's not my fault," he hissed._

"…_I didn't say that it was. What are you talking about?" Dark asked, raising a brow._

_Krad only glared at him. His lips were trembling and he tasted blood, and there was pressure—so much pressure atop the stinging pain in his chest._

_Dark could tell by the look on Krad's face that the blonde knew he was going to die and for a moment, when their eyes met, he saw the realization in the other's eyes. They both new there was nothing to do. Dark couldn't stop the bleeding—and even if he could, there was no way they could have gotten Krad down the mountain._

_Silence reigned between the four for a very long moment. Thunder crackled again in the distance, accompanied by the noise of swiftly moving leaves. They were too far up to ear the sound of waves crashing along the shoreline, but the salty smell of the ocean still danced through the air._

_What do you say to someone who's dying? What should they say to you in their final moments? Do you say goodbye? Do you beg for something different? Do you tell them you'll never forget them?_

_Dark swallowed. All he could do was look down at the blonde, who inched closer to death with every second that passed by. Krad was looking at him; staring into __**his**__ eyes. Like he was expecting something._

_Satoshi spoke, thankfully, and Krad glanced over to his young friend. "I don't want to lose you."_

_Krad just nodded. His chest was so tight; speaking seemed so far out of the question._

_Satoshi continued, nonetheless, "You're my best friend. You always have been." _

_It wasn't quite a lie, but Krad knew it wasn't the truth. They were allies, certainly, but friends? Satoshi only clung to him because he was the only thing constant in the boy's life. They'd had their spats; they were two completely different people, and sometimes it was hard to get along with one another when they both butt heads so often. Krad smiled, anyway. He'd have said the same to the boy if it had been him dying._

"_You saved my life," Daisuke said; Satoshi had choked up and had raised a hand to shield his eyes. "I can't ever repay you."_

_Krad now assumed this was the only thing Daisuke could come up with. He hadn't known the little red-haired cabin boy very well, and they rarely spent time together enough to get to know each other. He didn't mind that this was the only thing the boy could come up with._

_All that was left was Dark, who was still staring, speechless._

_Krad's golden eyes narrowed as he looked at the other, and then he looked away. Apparently there was nothing Dark wanted to say to him. Fine._

"_Thank you," Krad said, pausing between words to collect himself, "For helping me stop him."_

_There was so much more he wanted to say, but he knew he couldn't get it all out. Satoshi clasped one of Krad's cold hands in his own, and Krad took this as an opportunity to murmur, "The ship," and squeeze the boy's hand._

_Satoshi understood. The ship needed a captain, and he was all that was left. He was to inherit the 'Archaic Light'_._ So be it._

"_I…hope you can…be happy," Daisuke said._

_Krad again nodded. Dark had yet to speak. His mouth was slightly agape, and he kept trying to force something out of his throat—and word._

_Krad closed his eyes._

"_Don't!" Satoshi cried._

_The blonde's breathing slowed. He grimaced, coughed, winced…_

_He stopped moving._

_Daisuke was no longer crying. Satoshi was no longer begging. Dark was still staring._

The boys had taken to the death of their…comrade…surprisingly well, Dark thought. Better than he had. They spoke words without much thought, and the pirate captain was ashamed that he'd clammed up. That he'd lost all control of himself.

It was unfair to Krad, and unfair to himself.

He'd grown to trust this enemy of his, and though maybe they weren't friends…they were at least on the same level. Had the same amount of respect of each other…

They had, indeed, been worthy adversaries. And that damned Kei Hiwatari…he'd taken away the only person Dark had ever respected.

He'd killed him not long after Krad drew in his final breath. He'd gone into a blind rage and awoke from it when Daisuke and Satoshi had pulled him off the breathless traitor.

The storm had been on the verge of breaking, and Dark sent the two boy's down. He'd yelled, screamed—commanded them to leave. They'd made it down the mountain safely and into the rowboat; Dark watched them sail back to the '_Archaic Light_'. Only when he was sure they were on board did he turn around to look at the two corpses before him.

He shivered at the thought. Kei, he didn't mind. Kei was a corpse. But Krad? Dark wasn't ready to accept that the blonde had died.

He tossed Kei off the side of the cliff—just kicked him until the other's body rolled off.

Good riddance.

Of Krad? The rain had begun to fall when he started to dig the grave. The ground was packed tightly together, so the rain did well to loosen the dirt. He dug and dug until he was certain the hole was deep enough, and then looked at the body lying across from him.

Dark pulled himself out of the hole and brushed himself off and walked hesitantly over to the body. He pulled his jacket, stained with blood, off from atop of Krad and wrapped the blonde in it. He removed the sword from the blonde's sheath, if only to prevent some foolish accident from happening, and lifted him up. He weighed nothing, Dark thought, though doubted he'd have registered weight of all things if he'd been in his right mind, anyway. Lowering Krad into the ground had been the hardest.

Dark felt like he shouldn't let go—thought he'd felt the other's breath on his neck, though he'd saw him blink, or move, or hear him speak. He had to stop himself numerous times from throwing dirt over him once he'd been placed in the grave. What if he wasn't dead?

By then it had been more than obvious that Krad was dead and not coming back. Dark closed his eyes when he kicked the first batch of dirt in. Things got a little easier from there—he just had to think about kicking the dirt in. Not that he was burying someone.

And so, here he was, now, staring across the sea. The wind seemed to be pushing him towards it, and Dark couldn't agree more with nature's bidding. He belonged on the sea, not here on land. He belonged with the living, not with…the dead.

Sunlight peaked through the clouds in the distance, and Dark could tell that the storm would be breaking up soon. Thunder was now a dull echo, and the lightning had traveled to another island just along the horizon. Rain fell in trickles, matting itself in Dark's hair and clothes. It was only now that Dark realized just how long he'd been standing here, contemplating and reflecting.

He turned away from the beautiful sight of the orange light from an almost setting sun peaking through the clouds to land on his beautiful ship and Krad—Satoshi's ship. He'd have a good, long talk with the crew on the '_Black_ _Wings_' before he re-commandeered his ship. But first…he had to think of something to say.

He glanced over his shoulder at the grave he'd dug that rested in just a way that the massive statue seemed to be serving as a monument. He walked over to the grave, hands shoved into his pockets and said, after a long moment, "Krad Hikari. You would have been a great pirate. I am honored to have met you, and honored to have been at your side when you left this world."

He walked away and picked up the sword that had been previously discarded before he returned and knelt, then, next to the grave. He offered a small smile and spoke again. "I hope you're free from any limitations you had in this world. Hope you'll be able to find your calling in the next. Prim and proper, but you never really did strike me as the military sorts."

He clutched the sword hilt tightly. "I don't have anything I can do for you…nothing I can say. You'll be buried here, away from everyone else, but I swear…that doesn't mean you'll be alone. And, hey," Dark glanced at the statue that was becoming ever more ominous as the sun sank deeper behind the clouds, "at least you'll always be here to protect this…thing. Not that anyone's ever going to know about it…"

Dark fell silent, and almost expected an answer. He wasn't surprised when he didn't' get one, only a little disappointed. "Well." He rose, then, glancing down at the grave. "I'd better be going. Not much use talking to thin air, and it'll probably be best to head back. I don't want anyone leaving without me."

Dark held the sword for a moment longer before he laid it, gently, across the center of the grave. "It was good knowing you."

One final nod to the grave, and Dark started down the summit, glad to find when he reached the sandy beach that Daisuke had returned with the rowboat and was waiting for him, a smile on his face.

"Ready to go?" Daisuke asked when his captain approached.

"I did what I needed to do."

"Did you get to say…goodbye?" the redhead asked, glancing up towards where he now figured Krad to be buried.

Dark climbed into the tiny wooden boat. "Something like that."

A nod on Daisuke's part. "All right. Are you…going to be okay?"

Violet eyes were staring across the sea; they shot back to Daisuke's face as the other pushed off from shore and jumped in the boat. "I'm fine. Just miss my ship."

"We'll get her back. And then…we'll go back to the same thing, right…?" Daisuke asked, waiting in silence for his friend's answer.

"That's all there is." Dark wore a mischievous smile as he continued to glance across the ocean waters again.

"A pirate's life for me."

_--_

_This is, actually, TECHNICALLY, the end. I suppose I lied when I said this was going to be the epilogue…it turns out I needed a little more time to close it better. The epilogue(s) are going to be up this_ _weekend, at latest, and I apologize for the extra time it took for all of this…I'm very glad so many of you have stuck by me for this long! It means so much._

_Also, a little side note for reading the epilogues: epilogue A will have no hints at any slash pairings, but epilogue B will probably have some...hintage, if nothing else._


	20. Epilogue A

_**Oceans of the Unforeseen**_

_Taking place on the seas of the 18th century, Krad is commander for an elite naval force, while Dark is a well-known and popular pirate. What will happen when the two collide and Krad is thrust into the arms of his sworn enemy?_

**Epilogue A**

Sunny days had always been a favorite of Dark Mousy, and with two attractive young girls on either side of him, he had nothing to complain about. Daisuke made friends far too easily, and was far too unwilling to leave anyone craving adventure behind.

Hence the twins that rested on Dark's arms. Or, rather, the twin that was resting on his arm and the twin that was shooting glares at him as he wrapped his arm around her while simultaneously trying to steer the ship.

"Dark," Riku huffed, "you're so stupid! I thought you were captain. You're going to crash into those rocks!"

Dark rolled his eyes playfully. "No, I'm not. Just watch."

Even Risa sounded a bit skeptical when she asked in an uncertain voice, "Dark…are you sure?"

"Of _course_ I'm sure. Jeez. You girl's act like I'm a novice at this."

"I wouldn't be so worried if you weren't always trying to show off," Riku said, her voice scathing as she pushed away from Dark.

"_Touchy_," he grumbled. "What's her problem, today?"

Risa shrugged. "She must be homesick."

"That all…?"

Risa nodded. "She said something about missing the shop back home this morning."

Dark nodded. "What about you? You miss home?"

"I don't think so," the girl said after a long moment. "I mean, I miss things about it, but…I like it here. As long as I'm with my sister—and you—I'm fine."

Dark grinned. "You're too easy to please."

"You're too eager to please," Daisuke called from across the deck. He'd grown a lot this past year, and was nearly as tall as Dark. Not as attractive, though, the pirate told himself, but he was certainly getting there.

"You're one to talk," Dark returned, grinning. "Throw down the anchor, won't you? We'll have to use the rowboat if we want to go in. You remember, don't you?"

Daisuke nodded. "I remember." He barked a few orders, here and there, and the anchor fell to the bottom of the sea a few moments later.

"What do you say, girls?" Dark asked when Riku had stormed across deck next to him, "Want to go ashore?"

"I'll go get Emiko. She said she wanted to visit, here," Risa said, tearing away from Dark's side.

The captain nodded. "You do that."

The group that went ashore that day was small; in the boat sat Dark, Daisuke, Emiko, Kosuke, and the two Harada twins. A hike was in order; only Dark and Daisuke knew what—who—lay at the top of this jagged cliff.

It had been four years since last they visited this place; Dark was insistent on avoiding it until all of a sudden, just the other day, he claimed to have the sudden urge and the ship set sail immediately.

Everything was as Daisuke remembered it from their last encounter, and he couldn't quite discard the foreboding sense that rose in the pit of his stomach as they reached the top. All that vanished when he looked at Dark's smiling face. The group crowded around the summit; Riku and Risa gasped in awe at the sight they could see from so high up. Emiko smiled at their reaction, though such fell when she lay her eyes on the distinct headstone that lingered behind several trees that seemed to be growing up in an effort to shield the hideous statue before her.

Dark was looking somewhere else, and Daisuke followed his eyes. "Is that it…?"

Dark nodded. "That's where he is."

Still where he left it, the sword remained, albeit a bit rusted, atop a mound of dirt. The only difference was, now there was a headstone.

Dark was drawn to it—he hadn't placed it there, so who…?

…Ah. Satoshi.

The inscription on the white rock was simple; it held Krad's name, date of birth and death, and a simple quote that Dark didn't much care to read. It was a personal thing—a Satoshi thing.

"Two ships," Kosuke noted; he was leaning over the edge of the summit just a bit.

"What?"

"There are two ships down there," the older man repeated.

Dark walked to his side, a smile on his face.

He'd have recognized the '_Archaic_ _Light_' anywhere. "Let's see if we can catch him before he leaves," he offered, smiling.

"I haven't seen Satoshi since the last time you all came back. After…" Emiko heaved a sigh and gestured towards the vicious monument, "After all of this happened. Give him my regards, won't you? I think I want to head down to the beach. I don't like it up here."

Kosuke nodded to his wife, his armed wrapped around her shoulders. She waved to the group before the couple began the decent.

"You want to meet an old friend of mine…?" Daisuke asked to the twins.

Risa seemed interested, and therefore Riku was, as well.

"All right, let's go," Daisuke said, practically darting off.

"Hey, hey. Wait. Me and Satoshi—you know. We're not on such good terms since he's got those orders to, you know, kill me on sight," Dark called to his redheaded friend. "Why don't you just take the girl's out there? I'd rather stay up here, anyway."

Daisuke understood. He'd rather visit with Krad than Satoshi; it was all too obvious. "Fine. We'll come pick you and my parents up after, okay…?"

Dark grinned. "Sounds great. Have fun, you three."

Risa looked a bit skeptical; she had obviously wanted to stay with Dark, but Riku was tugging on her arm and hurrying after Daisuke.

For a long moment, Dark looked after the group before he turned to the graves he'd seen so many times in his dreams. It wasn't a nightmare, but more like a very unpleasant recollection of how cruel the world could be. He walked over and took a seat next to the grave and just sat, allowing the cool breeze to tousle his hair. He closed his eyes and smiled.

When he died, he wanted to be dropped into the sea, where he belonged, but he figured if he were to have a resting place on land, this wouldn't be too bad.

The sun was warm, the air was cool. The sight was beautiful, all around. The only downfall of the island was the fact that somewhere on it, Kei's rotting corpse was lingering.

Maybe he'd find it someday—whatever was left of it—and burn it. Could you burn bones? Dark didn't really know. Didn't care, honestly. He sat for a good number of hours, just thinking. His mind was so clear, he just couldn't help it.

"I'm sorry you had to die," he said suddenly. "Really miss you around here. Which is funny, seeing as…when we first met you were dead set on killing me."

The lack of answer neither surprised him nor disheartened him. "Satoshi was here earlier," he mused aloud, "so I guess you've already heard how things are going for us. He's not a bad kid, but he's not as good at you. He'll never catch me, even if my ships lying just around the island. Which is a good thing; I don't have to worry about…well, anything. Life's good. Should I be saying that to you? You're dead."

A pause; Dark smiled. "…Which means you can't hear me, anyway. I must have been in the Caribbean too much. All those voodoo women almost made me believe in talking to the dead. Of course, maybe they're right. Maybe I'll have to go talk to them. Maybe they could help you, you know? You being dead and all. Course, you coming back as a zombie isn't really in anyone's best interest. Especially not mine, if you're still hell bent on killing me now that everything's been taken care of."

No answer was good for Dark, again. He was content to just rest and let slip some of his thoughts into the open. "We'll see," he concluded after a long moment. It was easy talking to the dead—there was never an awkward moment. Dark felt like he could say anything and still not feel like he was talking to no one—he felt as though someone was listening. He spoke for an hour or so about everything he could think of—dreams, experiences, people he'd met, people he'd lost. At the end of everything, he realized the sun was setting and he should get back to his ship. Satoshi knew he was there, but obviously didn't feel the need to attack him here. Maybe it was a gesture of kindness of the truce they'd had back when Krad was still around.

Either way, it was time to go, and he knew it. "So long, Krad. Maybe I'll come visit again, if I'm still alive in a year or so. Just as long as you don't go anywhere, maybe we'll rendezvous again. Sound good?"

The wind whistled as it had been doing all day long; it was Dark's only answer. "Sounds good to me," the pirate captain said, rising. From a distance, he could see Emiko and Kosuke still on the beach, so he didn't have to worry that they'd gone and left him. Daisuke was probably still chatting with Satoshi; the boy was smart, though. He'd come by before it got dark.

…Hopefully.

-

Several hours earlier, Daisuke and the Harada twins had arrived at the _'Archaic Light'_, and had quite a pleasant meeting with the ship's captain.

Rowing to the ship had been difficult, as they were forced up against the current, but the joy of meeting an old friend was enough to keep the Daisuke going. A ladder lowered, the twins went first, followed by Daisuke who tied off the rowboat to before he climbed on board.

Daisuke embraced Satoshi before the other had any time to speak and then began animatedly introducing the two sisters.

"This," Daisuke said, gesturing towards the older Harada, "is my girlfriend, Riku."

Satoshi leaned down and took her hand, placing a soft kiss on the back of her hand. "It's a pleasure."

Riku laughed nervously, drawing her hand to her chest. "…Okay."

"And Risa, her sister," Daisuke said, gesturing then towards the younger of the twins.

Satoshi cocked his head a bit, staring at the girl for a long moment before he gave her a warm smile and kissed her hand as well. "And a pleasure to meet you, as well."

"The same here," the girl said, flushing.

Daisuke was talking quickly, then, trying to get out all his thoughts and say everything he wanted to before he had to return to his own ship.

Satoshi smiled that knowing smile he'd attained years ago and nodded ever so often as he listened to the redhead's tales.

It was good to be able to escape the reality of everything for a while. He didn't care that Daisuke was a pirate, didn't care that they were sworn enemies.

Sometimes it was just good to be back together.

_--_

…_I don't know. I really don't like happy endings, but this is…as happy and ending as you get. It feels a little lacking for me, which is why I usually don't write epilogues, but…you know. I felt like the people who wanted Dark/Krad deserved a Dark/Krad ending, and then I thought it would only be fair for the people who didn't want that…well, I figured they should get their own little epilogue, as well._

_I'm sorry if it didn't quite meet your standards; it didn't quite meet mine._

_In any case, though, this really is the end of the story, so I'm sorry to say…I guess this is just goodbye. Thank you so much for reading this—you have no idea how important it's been to write this and get reviews from you guys. I'd like to think I've learned a lot from this, but…maybe I'm just being optimistic._


	21. Epilogue B

_**Oceans of the Unforeseen**_

_Taking place on the seas of the 18th century, Krad is commander for an elite naval force, while Dark is a well-known and popular pirate. What will happen when the two collide and Krad is thrust into the arms of his sworn enemy?_

**Epilogue B**

It had stormed yesterday, and was only just now clearing up. The waves were considerably less violent, but every now and then there'd be one to rock the boat. Dark had his work cut out for him these last few days, and it had certainly taken it's toll on his general well being.

Imagine stepping outside on the deck to your ship one night only to find that you'd not only been blown far off course, but you'd also somehow managed to find yourself anchored just off the coast of the one place in the whole world that seemed to actually haunt you in your dreams.

Dark had, for the past four years, dreaded this island—the resting place of Krad Hikari. He had stared at it for a very long time before, oblivious to Daisuke behind him. When the boy placed his hand on his shoulder, Dark had nearly jumped out of his skin.

"Way to sneak up behind me," Dark said bitterly, clutching his chest.

"I didn't sneak up behind you. I even called your name a few times. Mom wanted to know…well…never mind. Are you…okay…?"

Dark glanced back at the island, disliking how the vibrant green trees contrasted so with the dark clouds behind it. "…I'm fine. I…"

"You what?" Daisuke asked, his concern flashing in his large eyes.

"I think," Dark said through grit teeth, "that I want to go back."

"Go back…?" Daisuke's eyes fell onto the island that the other was looking at. "Oh. Go back…there."

Dark nodded. "You think I can get there in once piece?"

His best friend and close confident looked skeptical. "I don't think you should chance it."

"…Daisuke, I need to do this."

"Then why would you ask _me_?"

Dark shrugged. "I was kinda hoping you'd find a way to convince me that I didn't need to do this."

The teenager shook his head. "Dark, I totally agree with you. I think you need to do this, too. You're the one who wakes up in the middle of the night crying out absurdities. You're the one who wakes up calling _his_ name."

Dark grimaced. "…Excuse me?"

"You can lie to me when you're awake," Daisuke said slowly, "but you can't lie to me when you're asleep. Mom says she's known ever since you first took him prisoner."

"…She's known what?"

"Don't be stupid," Daisuke said, hitting Dark with a rag he'd been washing with. "She's known how you felt."

"What's _that_ supposed to mean?"

"You're so dense! Either that or you're just ashamed of it. Well, I don't care, Dark. Do whatever."

Dark watched as Daisuke stormed away.

His mind had been made up a long time ago, but his heart just wasn't ready for it.

An hour of rowing against the harsh waves had been hell, but Dark wouldn't have had it any other way. He reached shore and tied the rowboat off to a tree before he started up the long trek to the summit—to the place he so vividly recalled every night in his dreams. Another hour passed—the clouds had yet to break. There was a chill on the wind, though no rain, yet. He was thankful for that.

The slope leveled off into a flat plateau, and Dark could see the hideous head of the Koku Yoku peeking out. He glanced away quickly from the sight, keeping his eyes downcast. Walking, as he had so many times before in his dreams, he approached Krad's grave. He glanced up, slowly, half-expecting to see a half-rotted corpse glaring at him, waving a bony finger in his direction and giving ominous threats and cryptic warnings.

There was none of that. Nothing frightening or fearful—just a peaceful little plateau with a little grave marked and a sword, rusted, resting over a small mound of dirt.

Dark gave a little sigh—out of relief or disappointment, he didn't know. He was glad there were no monsters here for him to face, but upset, just a little, that he was once again met with nothingness.

There had been a weight on his chest since the last time he was here, and he felt it's presence so much more as he first approached the large marble statue. He glanced over it's features and shook his head before taking his time as he approached the grave. He stared at it for a long moment, thinking it only a pity that someone so great as Krad didn't even get a proper burial. He should have been buried at sea, Dark realized, where he was happy. It was too late now. Much as Dark wanted to give Krad the burial he deserved, he couldn't bring himself to exhume the grave.

After all this time, it seemed strange. It seemed wrong. It seemed…taboo. The urge to leave was almost unbearable when suddenly Dark found himself speaking.

"I was so stupid back then. I should have said something. I can't help it—it gives me nightmares. All the time. There's…there's this feeling, that I can't ignore. I know what it is, I've felt it before—but I couldn't say anything while you were alive. What if you'd run away? Being friends…no, we weren't friends. I don't even know what we were. You were…so much to me. I mean, really—you _were_ my light."

Dark couldn't help but laugh at how stupid he sounded. "I didn't know you for long, I'll admit, and I know it's shallow—so shallow—for me to be able to admit that I _really_ cared for you. You just—I mean—I just felt…like there was some connection. I can't deny it. Maybe you could have, but you're not here, now are you?" Dark spoke this last bit spitefully.

"…I didn't mean it like that," he admit to the empty air. "I just…this has all been really stressful. I can't understand myself. I mean, I can, but it's just…so stupid."

He waited for someone to urge him to continue, but when no voice came, he urged himself. "I didn't just _like_ you. I think…I realized that you were more to me that day…you'd remember it, I hope…that day that you told me about your father. I should have told you then, but I guess I thought you'd think I just felt sorry for you."

Dark sighed and fingered the sword in its sheath at his side. "I think it was then that I realized I had feelings for you."

The wind picked up, and Dark sighed, sinking into a sitting position next to the grave.

"I wanted to tell you, but how do you just come out and say something like that? I don't even know I'm just making this up, anymore. You get what I'm saying?"

Silence.

"…Of course you don't, you're dead. This is insane, I'm talking to a ghost. Less than a ghost because _you're not even here_."

No response.

"…That's what I get for coming here. A bunch of letdowns. But you know what? I sorta feel better, even if you aren't here. It wouldn't have worked out, anyway. I mean, you did promise to kill me." Dark smiled a little. "…Maybe that's why I was so attracted to you. It didn't matter what you lost, just as long as you got what you wanted in the end. That _was_ it, right? That's how I'll always remember you. Hope you don't mind."

Dark rose then, growing weary of talking to thin air, even if he did feel as though some weight was being lifted from his soul. He continued, "I wasn't lying when I said I'd never forget you. Did I say I'd never forget you? I forget. The point is, though, Krad…I'm sorry."

Dark was pacing a bit; he knew he'd really overstayed his visit. He'd be lucky if he made it back to the ship before it started storming. It was a foolish trip—he could have waited until after the storm, but he'd just felt…such a calling.

He drew in one deep sigh. "Anyway…Goodbye, Krad. Thanks for listening."

"…Thanks for coming."

Dark spun around, his eyes wide at the sudden voice. How ridiculous he felt when he found no one there. He offered a bitter laugh and forced a smile so he didn't feel so very foolish. He shook his head and gave one last look about the tiny place. "I don't think I'll be coming back. It's just too weird. Still. I just…wish I had something to remember this by. To remember _you_ by. Something other than memories.

There was no voice, only a small breeze. Dark accepted this and gave a little nod as he once again started down the path towards the shoreline so he could get back in the rowboat and get back to his ship. The winds picked up, and he knew he'd have to hurry; his hasty walk turned into a full-fledged jog; it was only a matter of time before he was to fall on the rocky path.

When he did, he landed face first in the ground, staring at a most peculiar ornament. He pushed himself up so that he was resting on all fours when he looked down at the pristine little necklace that lay there, just _calling_ to him.

He recognized the little wing pattern and glanced up towards the leveled off summit he'd just come to when he scooped up the necklace. Either he had really good luck, or someone was messing with him.

No matter what the case, he held the necklace close to him and, despite it's broken silver links, he shoved it in a pocket in his shirt where it remained, close to his heart.

Fate was on his side; Dark managed to row back to the '_Black Wings_' just before the storm broke. He had a smile on his face, a strange sight to Daisuke. It was not uncommon for Dark to randomly walk by wearing a lazy grin, but it had been a long time since he'd seen him with _that_ bounce in his step, or _that_ smile on his face.

Daisuke knew, then, that Dark had finally found his closure. Rain fell from the sky in large droplets as he watched the captain strut across the deck, barking orders with a certain bounciness he hadn't seen since before Krad died.

"It's sad that Emiko is always so knowledgable about these things," Towa said, walking behind Daisuke. Her eyes glued onto Dark, too, they shared a moment of silence before Daisuke tore away from the girl, still grinning faintly.

"It may not have been a happy ending for them," he said softly, "but at least he's happy, now."

The older woman cocked a head at Daisuke. "You're happy too, aren't you?"

"For him, yes," the redhead said. "I'm glad that he was finally able to move on."

"And, speaking of moving on," Dark said from very near to the two, "let's get a move on, ourselves. We've wasted enough time here, already!"

"You've wasted enough time," Daisuke corrected.

"Hey," the older male challenged, "I've wasted no time, here."

Daisuke took into consideration the defensive tone he'd just heard, and nodded. "I didn't mean anything by it..."

Dark smiled warmly at his young friend. "I know, Daisuke. Let's go, though. This place...has a lot of memories. I don't want to forget, but that doesn't mean I have to remember them. We can stay here and do nothing...or move on, and make more memories."

Not wanting to question Dark's sudden change in personality, Daisuke nodded. "...All right. We'll go forward. Where to?"

"There's a merchant ship carrying art from France that's supposed to be passing through just a day's sail from here--unless they've changed their route, but that's not likely. We'll try there."

Daisuke nodded. "I'll go make sure the sails are ready."

A nod. "Good boy, Daisuke," Dark said, and feeling a heaviness in his heart as he watched both Daisuke and Towa walk away, he placed a hand across his pocket. One more remorseful smile as he felt the tiny pendant beneath the thin, soaked cloth of his shirt...he glanced over towards the island as it was lit up with a bolt of lightning.

Maybe, someday, he'd be caught for plundering. It wasn't likely, but he was sure to die some day. Maybe in a storm, like this one, or maybe just a stupid accident. _Maybe_, even, old age. Dark wondered, then, if Krad would be waiting for him.

His heart refused to tell him anything but '_yes'_ as the _Black Wings_ started away from the island, it's image forever preserved in the memory of Dark Mousy, the greatest pirate captain to ever stalk the seven seas.

_--_

_So…this is it. The final end, for real. It means so much that you've read this far, but I really wish that you'd stopped at chapter 19. I really don't like either of the epilogues, but…you know. I did it for you guys, so I'm sorry if I've let you down. In any case, thanks so much for reading this…when I first started writing, OotU was really a big deal for me. I got fifteen reviews the first night I had the first chapter up, so it was a pretty big deal for me, who'd just been writing and getting little reviews before then. I guess…no more reviews after this, though, right…? This is…really the end._

_All I can say is this—thanks for being with me for so long. You've all been really awesome._


End file.
